What areas in Charles Village will this bill affect?
jf
On Oct 28, 2009, at 4:12 PM, slg2...@cs.com wrote:
Dear Neighbors:
The Baltimore Sun at http://www.baltimoresun.com is conducting a
Poll of readers on whether Sheila Dixon should sign or veto the Live
Entertainment Bill passed by the City Council on 10/26/2009
expanding the use of live music in bars and restaurants near certain
Residential Areas. Or you can send your comments to the Mayor c/o
Kristy Taylor at kristy.tay...@baltimorecity.gov
The CVCA Board opposed the Bill on Second Reader back in May because
it failed to provide a licensing structure for the use that could be
closely monitored by the City. Once again the CVCA Land Use
Committee is recommending to the CVCA Board that it send a letter to
the Mayor asking her to veto the Bill as passed, even with the
companion bills which were introduced to make the bill stronger. If
the CVCA Board approves this letter, and it looks like it will, the
letter will be sent to the Mayor on behalf of the CVCA.
Right now the vote online is 73% in favor of the Bill and 23%
against. Please add your vote to the mix. Who knows how many non-
city residents have been voting.
A summary of the Land Use Committee's proposed letter is as follows:
After careful consideration by its Land Use Committee and Board of
Directors, the Charles Village Civic Association ("CVCA") opposes
City Council Bill 08-0163, the Live Entertainment Bill. This Bill is
a disappointing solution to the initial goal of balancing the desire
to expand live entertainment venues in neighborhood business
districts with providing sufficient enforcement mechanisms to ensure
that these establishments are good neighbors to the nearby
residential districts.
Adding live entertainment as a conditional use to B1 and B2 zoning
areas is an insufficient attempt at striking the necessary balance
between the interests of businesses and their surrounding
residential communities. The Bill creates a burden on the
communities to make and pursue complaints against unruly
establishments instead of providing a licensing system to regularly
monitor these establishments. The two companion bills, which were
passed by the City Council in an effort to reduce this burden, do
not go far enough to protect the community.
Currently in hearings before the BMZA, our community volunteers are
forced to spend hours waiting to oppose zoning applications for
changes in our neighborhoods that are pushed forward by the
applicants with little advance notice to the community. We are very
concerned about the possibility that Live Entertainment applications
will be added to that hearing list.
CVCA continues to support the creation of a licensing system for
live entertainment venues in the City and not the abandonment of the
idea. We appreciate the difficulties encountered during the lengthy
legislative process. We ask you to veto City Council Bill #08-0163
so that the City Council can continue to consider a Live
Entertainment licensing system that would enliven Baltimore as a
creative and fun place to live and visit while protecting its
residents.
Here is the article on the subject of Live Entertainment from
Tuesday's paper.
--------------------
City Council approves live-entertainment bill
--------------------
Bands, singers could perform at trendy bars, restaurants
By Annie Linskey | annie.lins...@baltsun.com
October 27 2009
The Baltimore City Council voted Monday to allow bars and
restaurants in some of the city's trendiest neighborhoods to hire
bands, singers and other performers, overturning a decades-old
prohibition that City Council President Stephanie C. Rawlings-Blake
says has stifled nightlife in town.
The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/baltimore-city/bal-md.ci.live27oct27,0,4607385.story
Sharon L. Guida, Chair, CVCA Land Use Committee
2746 Maryland Avenue
Baltimore, MD 21218
410-889-0436 (home)
410-467-4409 (work)
410-467-4410 (work fax)
410-960-1139 (cell)
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