NEWPORT BEACH : New Nail Salons May Require More Parking

In hopes of easing some traffic problems, the Planning Commission today will consider increasing parking requirements for new fingernail salons.

Under a revised ordinance, new nail salons would be required to provide one parking space for every 80 square feet of salon area--three times as many parking spaces as have been required in the past.

The city has had a moratorium on new personal service businesses that have five or more work stations since last April 25. The city stopped issuing permits until planners had time to determine which services were generating the most car trips and parking problems.

Since then, planners have suggested making a new distinction between beauty parlors and nail salons, because nail salons tend to have more operators busy at any time with patrons who often have parked nearby.

The city is home to 129 beauty, barber and nail salons, according to Planning Department reports. Planners visited 48 of those and found that beauty salons averaged 58% of their stations occupied by a customer at any given time, compared to 73% at nail salons. Salons in shopping centers seemed to have few problems with parking, planners noted.