[HISTORY: Adopted by the City of Norwalk Common Council 1-14-2003. Amendments noted where applicable.]
For the purpose of this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
BARBERING
Includes the following described practices when performed by a barber licensed in the State of Connecticut, upon the head, face, scalp or neck for cosmetic purposes only:
A. 
The cutting, trimming, or shaving of the hair.
B. 
Singeing, shampooing, dyeing or styling of the hair.
C. 
The application of cosmetic preparations, hair tonics, antiseptics, powders, oils, clays, creams or lotions.
D. 
Giving facial and scalp massage or the application of oils, creams, lotions or other preparations, either by hand or mechanical appliances.
BARBERSHOP
Any establishment engaged in the practice of barbering for the public.
BODY ART
The practice of physical body adornment by permitted establishments and practitioners using, but not limited to, the following techniques: body piercing, tattooing, cosmetic tattooing, branding, and scarification.
[Added 7-26-2011[1]]
BODY ART FACILITY
Any establishment engaged in the practice of body piercing or tattooing for the public.
[Added 7-26-2011]
BODY CARE FACILITY
Any establishment engaged in the practice of barbering, hairdressing, or cosmetology for the public.
[Added 7-26-2011]
BODY PIERCING
Piercing or creating a channel through any part of the body for the purpose of inserting a decorative object. This definition excludes piercing of the earlobe with a presterilized single-use stud-and-clasp system manufactured exclusively for ear piercing.
[Added 7-26-2011]
HAIRDRESSING AND COSMETOLOGY
Includes the following described practices performed by a licensed hairdresser/cosmetician in the State of Connecticut upon the head, face, scalp, arms, hands, body, legs and feet for cosmetic purposes only.
A. 
Dressing, arranging, curling, waving, weaving, cutting, singeing, bleaching and coloring hair.
B. 
Treating the scalp, face, neck and arms by massaging, cleansing, exercising, stimulating or manipulating, with the hands, mechanical appliances or water.
C. 
Application of cosmetics, preparations, antiseptics, tonics, lotions, creams, powders, oils, clays or sprays.
D. 
Manicuring fingernails of the hand and toenails of the feet.
HAIRDRESSING OR COSMETOLOGY SHOP
Any establishment engaged in the practice of hairdressing or cosmetology for the public.
OTHER SERVICES
The following described practices can be performed by an unlicensed individual under the supervision of a licensed hairdresser/cosmetician in the State of Connecticut.
A. 
Manicuring nails of the hands.
B. 
Performing facials.
C. 
Shampooing of the hair.
D. 
Eyebrow arching.
TATTOOING
Any method of placing ink or other pigment into or under the skin or mucosa by the aid of needles or any other instrument used to puncture the skin, resulting in permanent coloration of the skin or mucosa. This term includes all forms of cosmetic tattooing.
[Added 7-26-2011]
[1]
Editor’s Note: This ordinance also changed the title of this chapter from "Barbershops, Hairdressers and Cosmetology Shops” to “Body Care and Body Art Facilities."
A. 
No body care or body art facility having a permanent location shall be relocated, constructed, remodeled or extensively altered, nor shall a structure be converted to use as a body care or body art facility except in accordance with the specifications and standards approved by the Norwalk Board of Health.
[Amended 7-26-2011]
B. 
Properly prepared plans drawn to a scale of not less than 1/4 inch: one foot, and specifications for such construction, remodeling or alteration shall be submitted to the Director of Health, or authorized agent, for review and approval before relocation, construction, remodeling, alteration, or conversion is begun. The plans and specifications shall indicate the proposed layout, arrangement and construction materials of work areas and the type and model of proposed fixed equipment and facilities. The plans and specifications shall be submitted with forms furnished by the Director of Health. The Director of Health shall approve the plans and specifications if they meet the requirements of this chapter and the Public Health Code of the State of Connecticut.
C. 
Prior to the body care or body art facility’s opening, the Director of Health, or authorized agent, shall conduct a preoperational inspection to determine compliance with the approved plans and specifications and with the requirements of this chapter and the Public Health Code of the State of Connecticut.
[Amended 7-26-2011]
A. 
No person shall maintain or operate body care or body art facility without having a valid permit issued by the Director of Health. Only a person who complies with the requirements of this Code shall be entitled to receive or retain such a permit.
[Amended 7-26-2011]
B. 
Application for a permit shall be made on forms furnished by the Director of Health, wherein the applicant shall state his/her name, address, the address of the place of business, give such other pertinent information as the Director of Health may require and affix his signature to the application. All permits are valid for one year or a portion thereof, and are renewable each year on or before September 30 of each year. The chief corporation officers shall be designated for service in the event of a corporation.
C. 
No permit shall be granted to any individual to operate a barbershop or hairdressing shop unless such person has been licensed as a barber, or hairdresser/cosmetician for at least two years.
D. 
Every applicant for a permit to operate a body care or body art facility shall pay an annual permit fee established in accordance with § 57-5. Fees will not be prorated.
[Amended 7-26-2011]
E. 
No permit shall be issued or renewed until a completed application has been submitted, the permit fee has been paid and the applicant's body care or body art facility meets the requirements set forth in this Code and all other applicable state and local regulations.
[Amended 7-26-2011]
F. 
Permits shall be valid until the expiration date indicated on the permit unless suspended or revoked by the Director of Health, or until such time as the facility changes owners, closes, or goes out of business.
G. 
Permits shall not be transferable from person to person or from location to location.
H. 
The Director of Health, or his/her agent, after proper identification, shall be permitted to enter, during normal operating hours, any portion of any body care or body art facility for the purpose of making inspections to determine compliance with this chapter and the Public Health Code of the State of Connecticut.
[Amended 7-26-2011]
I. 
A temporary permit to operate a body care or body art facility may be granted for a period not to exceed 14 calendar days for a fee established in accordance with § 57-5. A temporary permit would be required and issued for conducting a public demonstration, a fund-raising event or a public convention.
[Amended 7-26-2011]
[Amended 7-26-2011]
A. 
At least once a year, the Director of Health, or authorized agent, shall inspect each body care or body art facility and shall make as many additional inspections as are necessary for the enforcement of this chapter and the Public Health Code of the State of Connecticut. Any facility offering pedicures as a service will be inspected a minimum of twice a year.
B. 
The Director of Health, in consultation with the Board of Health, shall have the authority to adopt and amend technical standards, policies and inspection procedures. Such standards, policies and inspection procedures shall conform to the purpose of this chapter, the Connecticut General Statutes, and the Public Health Code of the State of Connecticut. Failure of a body care or body art facility to comply with the requirements as outlined in this chapter, the technical standards, policies and inspection procedures shall be considered a violation of this chapter.
A. 
Failure to comply with the provisions of this chapter and applicable state regulations shall be grounds for revocation or suspension of any permit issued under the provisions of this chapter.
B. 
In the event that the Director of Health or authorized agent finds unsanitary conditions in the operation of a body care or body art facility, or if a violation or set of violations appears on more than one consecutive inspection report, the Director of Health may immediately issue a written notice to the permit holder, or person in charge, citing such conditions, specifying the corrective action to be taken and time frame within which action shall be taken. If correction is not made in the allotted time, the permit may be revoked or suspended.
[Amended 7-26-2011]
C. 
The Director of Health may suspend, without warning, prior notice or hearing, any permit to operate a body care or body art facility:
[Amended 7-26-2011]
(1) 
If the operation constitutes an imminent hazard to public health;
(2) 
If the owner, operator or person in charge has interfered with the performance of the Director of Health's duties; or
(3) 
If the body art facility is not in compliance with the Public Health Code of the State of Connecticut requirement for physician supervision of technicians engaged in tattooing [19a-92a-1(d)].
D. 
An imminent health hazard shall include, but is not limited to, any one of the following:
(1) 
An ongoing outbreak of an infectious, pathogenic or toxic agent capable of being transmitted to consumers; or
(2) 
The absence of potable water, supplied under pressure, in a quantity which, in the opinion of the Director of Health, is capable of meeting the needs of the facility; or
(3) 
A sewage backup into the facility;
[Amended 7-26-2011]
(4) 
An unlicensed individual performing procedures requiring licensure by the Public Health Code of the State of Connecticut. An individual who does not hold a valid hairdressing/cosmetician license in the State of Connecticut is not allowed to perform pedicures, including polish changes on the feet.
E. 
Suspension shall be effective immediately upon delivery of the written order to the permit holder or person in charge of the facility by the Director of Health. When a permit is suspended, all body care or body art operations shall cease immediately and shall not resume until written approval to resume has been issued by the Director of Health. The Director of Health shall remove a suspended permit from the premises.
[Amended 7-26-2011]
F. 
When a permit is suspended, the holder of a permit, or the person in charge, shall be notified in writing of the suspension, and an opportunity for a hearing will be provided if a written request for hearing is filed with the Director of Health by the holder of the permit within 48 hours. The Director of Health may end the suspension at any time by giving written notice to the permit holder if reasons for suspension no longer exist.
G. 
Upon receiving a request for a hearing, the Director of Health shall immediately examine the merits of such suspension and may vacate, modify or affirm such suspension.
H. 
The permit holder who is aggrieved by such action of the Director of Health may, within 48 hours after the making of such decision, appeal to the Commissioner who shall thereupon immediately notify the authority from whose order the appeal was taken and examine the merits of such suspension and may vacate, modify, or affirm such suspension.
A. 
The Director of Health, after providing opportunity for hearing, may revoke or refuse to renew the permit of any person for serious or repeated violations of any of the provisions of this Code, or for interference with the Director of Health in the performance of official duties or for cases where the permit to operate has been obtained through nondisclosure, misrepresentation or intentional misstatement of a material fact.
B. 
Prior to revocation or nonrenewal, the Director of Health shall notify the permit holder, or person in charge at the facility of the specific reason(s) for such revocation or nonrenewal, and that permit shall be revoked or not renewed at the end of 10 calendar days following service of such notice, unless a written request for a hearing is filed with the Director of Health by the holder of the permit within 48 hours of such notice. If no request for a hearing is filed with 48 hours of such notice, the revocation or nonrenewal becomes final. The Director of Health shall remove a revoked permit from the premises.
A. 
Suspension. Whenever a permit has been suspended, the holder of the suspended permit may make written request for permit reinstatement. Within 10 days following receipt of a written request, including a statement signed by the applicant that, in his opinion, the conditions causing the suspension have been corrected, the Director of Health shall make a reinspection. If the Director of Health determines that the applicant has complied with the requirements of this Code and the State Public Health Code, the permit shall be reinstated and returned to the permit holder.
B. 
Revocation; nonrenewal. After a period of 60 days from the date of revocation or refusal to renew, a written application may be made for the issuance of a new permit. This application will be treated as a new application. All appropriate procedures and inspections will be required, including a plan review.
The Director of Health shall conduct the hearings provided for in this chapter at a time and place designated. The Director of Health shall summarize the proceedings of such hearings and provide sufficient copies. The Director of Health shall make a final finding based upon the complete hearing record, and shall sustain, modify or rescind any notice or order considered in the hearing. The Director of Health shall furnish a written report of the hearing decision to the permit holder within 10 calendar days of the hearing date.
A notice or order provided for in this Code is properly served when it is delivered to the permit holder, or person in charge, or when it is sent by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested, to the last known address of the holder of the permit. A completed and signed inspection report shall constitute a written notice.