The Forest Park Village Council voted not to issue any licenses to beauty supply or wig stores for the next six months at its meeting, May 29. Two weeks earlier, the council agreed to act on a proposal from the Chamber of Commerce to change village zoning rules so that any wig/beauty store must be 1,000 feet from another one, village-wide. That works out to one every three blocks.
The letter also asked the village to change zoning so that hair/nail/tanning salons and other “personal services” businesses maintain a 500-foot distance throughout the village. Formerly, this regulation was only for Madison Street.
The council voted 4-1 in favor of banning wig stores. Commissioner Chris Harris voted against the ordinance. “Any business in an empty storefront or on Roosevelt Road is a good business,” he said after the vote.
Two new wig shops that also sell beauty supplies opened in the area within the last six months. The first is a large outlet in Oak Park, formerly the site of a Walgreens on Madison Street. The second opened on Roosevelt Road in Forest Park.
Harris added that many salons and nail shops have survived through the recession, making them stable tenants. “I haven’t seen any hair places go out of business; I’ve seen other kinds of businesses close.”
DVD available
Commissioner Chris Harris announced that a DVD of the Public Property Town Hall held Feb. 23 was available at the Forest Park Public Library. “If anyone who missed the town hall wants to watch it, it’s available,” he said.
