Ephrata to look at home hair salons

EPHRATA — The Ephrata City Council plans to examine a ordinance allowing hair salons to operate in homes.

The city council meeting starts at 7 p.m. Wednes-day at city hall, located at 121 Alder St. S.W., in Ephrata.

The change comes after the council decided to reject the city’s planning commission’s recommendation to not alter the ordinance. The change moves beauty parlors and barber shops onto the list of 10 types of businesses allowed. These include massage parlors, small appliance repair as well as music and dance instruction. The city prohibits 15 business-types to run in people’s  homes, including kennels, vehicle repair shops and mortuaries.

While the city prohibits hair salons, the state has rules governing running the business at a residence, Planning and Community Development Director Ron Sell said during the previous city council meeting.  

“It would require a hair salon license, which does have about five or six different items that they must comply with,” he said.

The items include the need for a second entrance, the room used for the business can’t be used for residential purposes, at least $100,000 in insurance, meeting fire codes and providing safe storage for all chemicals.

The city’s planning commission recommended not changing the ordinance, citing problems with hygiene, enforcing the state law, the changes to the residence would be more extensive than for other allowed home businesses and the people were not interested in opening up a business downtown, Sell said.

“What will happen is if it does get approved? It will be very difficult for us to verify (their license). We can verify at the time the application comes in that they’re compliant, but as a daycare, if they lose that license we’re never notified, so that would be very difficult to follow,” he said.

Both Sell and City Administrator Wes Crago said the city doesn’t check on licenses governed by the state unless someone brings information to them.

Mayor Chris Jacobson, who brought the issue to the planning commission, read a letter he sent to the commission.

“The City of Ephrata prides itself on being proactive and developing standards for the community that allows for growth, growth in the population, growth in the tax base and the growth in the quality of life,” he said. “Small businesses are crucial to all three aspects of growth.”

Jacobson continued, saying the current code limits hair salons from running in people’s homes, which is limiting growth. The goal is to allow the businesses to build a clientele they can take to the downtown area if they decide to open a business there.

“My goal is to strengthen and aid small businesses and nurture the downtown district,” he said. “So I ask you for your aid during this time of economic troubles, our community must look for innovative methods to keep Ephrata viable and growing.”

The planning commission sent a notice to the city council asking for the city to dissolve the commission, asking the city council to handle the planning process to “enhance the communication of the citizens of Ephrata with the city council.”