The Arizona Supreme Court will take up a Mesa tattoo parlor case in which a lower court ruled that cities can no longer use long-established regulations to block where certain types of businesses can locate.

The court will hear oral arguments March 27. Mesa asked the court to hear the case after a three-judge panel of the Arizona Court of Appeals ruled that tattoo parlors are entitled to the same First Amendment protections as the artwork they produce. Mesa officials said the ruling was much broader than a single tattoo shop and could change land-use restrictions across Arizona.

Mesa turned down a request in 2009 from Angel Tattoo after Dobson Ranch residents said the tattoo parlor was incompatible with the area.