City officials will consider in November the types of business that fail to project the image they want for downtown and should be prohibited from East Palm Canyon Drive.

Tattoo and body-piercing parlors, which have long been discussed as undesirable, are not the only businesses that could be banned from setting up shop on the east-west corridor.

The Cathedral City City Council delayed action this week on a proposed ordinance to prohibit tattoo and piercing establishments and instructed city staffers to come up with a more “comprehensive” ordinance that would keep massage parlors, palm readers and possibly other types of business off the corridor.

The original proposal stemmed from the Planning Commission's Sept. 24 recommendation to the council to ban tattooing and body-piercing within 300 feet of East Palm Canyon.

But Councilman Chuck Vasquez said at the council meeting Wednesday night that he would not support an ordinance targeting one type of business that's perceived as undesirable. He pointed out that massage services and palm readers already conduct business in the area near City Hall.

“I think what I would like to see is a more comprehensive strategic plan as to how we want (Highway) 111 to look,” Mayor Kathy DeRosa said.

Senior City Planner Rich Malacoff said after the discussion, “What I heard them say is, let's just not look at one (type of) business but any business that doesn't give us the kind of atmosphere we want.”

The ordinance is expected to be discussed further this month at the next City Council meeting. Go to www.cathedralcity.gov for meeting details.