“This has never been debated in this way,” said Eric Light, executive director of the International Medical Spa Association.
Medical spas have been opening nationwide for the past decade, Light said. Today there are about 2,500 nationwide and between 150 and 180 in Ohio.
Rather than zoning issues, previous challenges have centered on design and building codes, Light said.
Wolfe, who currently performs chemical peels and microdermabrasion procedures at a Centerville spa, has appealed Springboro’s decision in Warren County Common Pleas Court.
In a lawsuit filed by Wolfe’s prospective landlord, attorney Christopher Cornyn, Wolfe claims the decision by Zoning Inspector Dan Fitzpatrick — and upheld by the city’s Board of Zoning Appeals — was “unconstitutional, illegal, arbitrary, capricious, unreasonable and unsupported” by evidence presented during a hearing.
While declining to issue Wolfe a permit to operate from Cornyn’s office — at the corner of Central and Fairway Drive just east of Springboro City Hall — officials said she could operate her business in one of the city’s other zones where personal services are permitted.
On Sept. 15, the city’s zoning appeals board voted four to three to uphold Fitzpatrick’s decision.
“The decision failed to define or describe why appellants’ proposed use did not constitute an acceptable professional service use under the City’s existing zoning code,” Wolfe said in her Oct. 25 appeal.
During the city hearing, Cornyn told the zoning board a doctor and nurse would supervise the office and detailed Wolfe’s training and certifications, and regulation by the Ohio State Board of Cosmetology.
“This is a professional service,” Cornyn said.
While welcoming Wolfe, neighbor James Boys urged the board against permitting personal services in the house where Cornyn has operated a law office since 1989.
“People don’t really agree on what a professional service is,” he said. “I don’t want us to widen things.”
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