Zoning board allows microblading, piercing at 504 E. 4th with conditions
March 13, 2026 | Royal Oak City, Oakland County, Michigan
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The Royal Oak Zoning Board of Appeals voted 6–1 to allow a salon at 504 East 4th Street to add microblading and body-piercing services, but members attached limits intended to keep the change ancillary to an existing beauty business.
Staff told the board the site sits in a Mixed Use 2 district where those services are classified as regulated adult-oriented businesses and normally would not be permitted. The petitioner sought a use variance and waivers of the ordinance's buffer and setback requirements; staff noted the Royal Oak Shabbat Jewish Center's nearby daycare is roughly 20 feet from the property, well inside the ordinance's 1,000-foot buffer standard.
Amy Hurevich, who said she will own and operate the salon, told the board the proposal is not a standalone tattoo shop but a small, windowless room inside an existing salon that would not add signage or create a noticeable exterior presence. She said the health department's licensing standards require age checks and other safeguards; board members confirmed minors would not be served.
Neighbors and the landlord, Dave Brenner, spoke in support. Brenner described microblading as a semi-permanent cosmetic technique commonly offered at high-end salons and told the board he would back conditions limiting the permitted services.
Board members debated whether approving a site-specific use variance would amount to spot zoning. Several members said they were comfortable imposing conditions restricting the approval to microblading and piercing and requiring that any change beyond those services return to the board. Others said the legal standard for use variances is high and that broad relief would not be appropriate.
Chair announced the motion to grant the use variance with conditions limiting services to microblading and piercing carried 6'01. The board also approved the associated buffer and residential-setback variances.
The decision allows the salon to seek the health-department permit that would be required before the services begin.
Staff told the board the site sits in a Mixed Use 2 district where those services are classified as regulated adult-oriented businesses and normally would not be permitted. The petitioner sought a use variance and waivers of the ordinance's buffer and setback requirements; staff noted the Royal Oak Shabbat Jewish Center's nearby daycare is roughly 20 feet from the property, well inside the ordinance's 1,000-foot buffer standard.
Amy Hurevich, who said she will own and operate the salon, told the board the proposal is not a standalone tattoo shop but a small, windowless room inside an existing salon that would not add signage or create a noticeable exterior presence. She said the health department's licensing standards require age checks and other safeguards; board members confirmed minors would not be served.
Neighbors and the landlord, Dave Brenner, spoke in support. Brenner described microblading as a semi-permanent cosmetic technique commonly offered at high-end salons and told the board he would back conditions limiting the permitted services.
Board members debated whether approving a site-specific use variance would amount to spot zoning. Several members said they were comfortable imposing conditions restricting the approval to microblading and piercing and requiring that any change beyond those services return to the board. Others said the legal standard for use variances is high and that broad relief would not be appropriate.
Chair announced the motion to grant the use variance with conditions limiting services to microblading and piercing carried 6'01. The board also approved the associated buffer and residential-setback variances.
The decision allows the salon to seek the health-department permit that would be required before the services begin.
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