The city of Warrenton will no longer allow new tattoo parlors, pawnshops or bail bonding agencies to be established on Main Street.Warrenton’s Board of Aldermen last week voted unanimously to prohibit those types of businesses on Main Street or within 100 feet of the Main Street right of way. A new ordinance containing the restrictions also prohibits medical marijuana facilities, personal credit loan agencies and teen community centers on Main Street.City officials said any existing businesses on Main Street will be “grandfathered” in and allowed to remain in place. The restrictions will only apply to new businesses.“The changes will not affect existing businesses in the downtown area,” said Neil Fick, the city’s director of planning and development, during the board of aldermen’s Sept. 17 meeting.However, any business that falls out of use for a certain period of time will lose its status as an existing business and wouldn’t be allowed to return.The zone where the businesses are prohibited extends along Main Street from Highway 47 to Elm Street.Before passing the ordinance, Ward 2 Alderman Gary Auch asked what would happen if an existing business suffered a disruption, such as a fire that forced it to close.City Attorney Chris Graville said if a business is forced to close because of some kind of damage, taking steps to repair and reopen would be considered an active use, and wouldn’t lose its grandfathered status. But if there’s no activity at all, and the owner shows up a year and a half later wanting to reopen, Graville said they would be subject to a new permitting process with the new restrictions.At a previous meeting on the subject, Graville also explained that businesses would keep their grandfathered status even if they are sold to a new owner.Ward 1 Alderman Cheryl Dyer told The Record that the city and board of aldermen aren’t trying to push any existing businesses away. Rather, they are seeking to encourage thoughtful revitalization on Main Street and draw in businesses that reflect what the downtown area used to be.“We had clothing stores, there were hardware stores, five-and-dimes, places where you could buy shoes. Everything you needed, you could have purchased on Main Street,” Dyer recalled. “When I was a little girl, there were restaurants, ice cream, bakeries. It was where you came on Saturday morning. That’s what we’re hoping for: family-oriented, retail businesses.”Downtown BusinessesThe Warrenton Downtown Association Board of Directors, in a statement to The Record, said the organization had been notified of the city’s intended changes.“Warrenton Downtown Association is excited about the community efforts to revitalize the downtown area. We learned the city of Warrenton made some changes in ordinance verbiage and are hopeful that it will encourage additional businesses to want to fill buildings that are available in the area,” the board said.The downtown association over the last two years has ramped up its efforts to encourage new growth and investment in building sites on Warrenton’s Main Street. Earlier this year, the association engaged a nonprofit economic development group to help develop plans for downtown revitalization.Malissa Booth, owner of the Madame Voodoo’s House of Ink tattoo parlor on Main Street, said she has mixed feelings about putting new restrictions on any businesses. But her parlor won’t be affected, and she said it’s understandable that the city might want different types of businesses than what’s already on Main Street.“There’s such a limited space downtown, and there’s only so many storefronts. I can see the need where (the city) would want a more diverse downtown,” Booth said.She added that she would like to see more businesses that bring regular foot traffic down Main Street, such as more stores and restaurants.“People want mom- and pop-stuff,” Booth commented. “They want sit-down restaurants, they want places where they can go shopping.”Recent business issuesTwo of the business types now prohibited on Main Street have been recent topics of discussion for the board of aldermen.The owners of a business called Green Wellness Releaf approached the board in April to announce their intention to open a medical marijuana dispensary on South East Street. The business is seeking approval from the state of Missouri to operate there.Although the intended location of the dispensary is less than a block south of Main Street, it’s outside of the 100-foot prohibition zone, so it would still be allowed to come in, if licensed by the state.In August last year, the city government came into contention with the Jordan’s Place teen community center. The center’s operators sought to move from their building on Main Street to a location less than a block away.However, members of the Warrenton Planning and Zoning Commission, which advises the board of aldermen, refused to approve a new permit for Jordan’s Place, expressing reluctance to have the center in the downtown area. Operators subsequently gave up on their plans to move. In January, it was announced that the teen center would close permanently.Downtown Warrenton