Suffolk has overturned its ban on tattoo shops.

The city was the region's lone locality that still had a ban in place. Court rulings in 2001 ended bans on tattoo parlors in Virginia Beach and Chesapeake. Portsmouth and Norfolk ultimately followed suit.

As expected, the City Council voted late Wednesday to lift a ban on shops and begin regulating them instead.

Under the proposal, tattoo parlors and body-piercing businesses may operate in certain commercial areas.