Submitted written testimonies + PR Update

[John Berndt]

Dear Folks,

Sorry I've been out of meetings the last two weeks--couldn't be
helped--I had a project in NYC that had been planned for a half a year
I had to follow through on.

I'm working on my own written testimony (about two pages) which I'm
going to submit to Andrew....@baltimorecity.gov . If there are
things you feel really strongly about, I think it worth doing the same
thing. Perhaps NOT identifying yourself as part of BLAS might make the
sense of broader support more palpable--to avoid the sense of a small
group working on this.

On the PR front, I've circulated some press releases and am in
discussions with teh Urbanite currently about a possible story. I'll
let you know if anything else happens on that front.

I had an idea for a tee-shirt which would have said MAKE IT EASY (big
print) to run a venue in baltimore (small print). These would have
been good if I had gotten them done for the workshops, but in the
absence of that, I'm not sure they make sense, unless things really
heat up and become contentious again. I'm curious what folks think of
that.

All the best,

John Berndt

[Dominique]

Hello All,

 

There was a recent article in the Baltimore Sun. 

From what I have been told the sun article did not have a very balanced outlook on the bill, maybe we could remedy this? 

 

Can we post a copy of that article on here for all to see?

I personally have not been able to find it yet.(Just now hearing of it)

-Dominique

[dominique]

BALTIMORE SUN ARTICLE

Bill would expand live entertainment in city
Restaurants in zones where dancing, musical performances are not
allowed would be able to apply for permits

By Sam Sessa
April 26, 2009

For years, customers at the trendy Harbor East restaurant Pazo could
get up and dance if they liked the house music.

That stopped about 18 months ago, when city officials threatened to
shut down the restaurant if the dancing continued, according to co-
owner Tony Foreman. Pazo operates in a B-2 business district, where
live entertainment is not allowed. Technically, when Foreman's patrons
got up and danced, it was considered live entertainment. Foreman was
shocked.

"We were warned that playing music and people getting up and dancing
to music - we're talking about grown-ups dancing to a little bit of
music after dinner - is illegal and we'd be shut down and lose our
[liquor] license," he said. "If you want to dance after dinner, you're
going to jail."

A new bill sponsored by City Council President Stephanie Rawlings-
Blake could change that. The legislation, which is scheduled for a
committee hearing Thursday, would allow live entertainment in city
districts where it was previously illegal.



"I'm trying to come up with a vehicle to change the way we do business
in the city - to really open the door for more live entertainment and
an increased quality of life," Rawlings-Blake said.

As it stands, taverns and restaurants can only have live entertainment
if they are in the proper city zones. They include B-3 through B-5
business districts and, conditionally, M-1 and M-2 industrial
districts.

This bill would allow taverns in B-2 and restaurants - such as Pazo -
in B-1 and B-2 zones to apply for a live entertainment license with
the Board of Municipal & Zoning Appeals and the Board of Liquor
License Commissioners. If approved by both, they could then hold live
entertainment events.

"Live entertainment" is a broad-reaching term that includes musical
and theatrical performances, magic shows, karaoke, DJs, dances and
revues. It does not affect adult entertainment licenses.

B-1 and B-2 zones are scattered throughout the city, and cover
Belvedere Square, parts of Harbor East and also Main Street areas in
neighborhoods such as Lauraville.

Rawlings-Blake introduced the bill last July, and asked for input from
bar and club owners and neighborhood residents. She held a series of
community work sessions and unofficial discussions with communities
and club owners.

Originally, the bill had drastically different intentions. Until it
was modified late last week, the legislation nearly tripled the size
of the area where live entertainment was allowed, issued permits to
all businesses that wanted to hold live entertainment and formed a
five-member Board of Live Entertainment to regulate the industry.

But budget constraints and opposition from neighborhood associations
and local club owners made Rawlings-Blake decide to redraft the bill.

Local musicians such as singer/songwriter Kristin Putchinski - who was
originally against the bill - are pleased with the new legislation.
Putchinski, who performs under the name Ellen Cherry, lives in
Hamilton. The new version of the legislation would open up a large
portion of the neighborhood along Harford Road for live entertainment.

"This is a great thing for my neighborhood," Putchinski said. "As a
musician, having more places to play can only be a positive thing."

Brian Shupe, who owns The 8x10, a live music club in South Baltimore,
was one of many venue owners who attended the session and protested
the fees and regulations the original bill imposed.

Under the new version of the bill, The 8x10 and any other venues
currently offering live entertainment would not have to pay any more
licensing fees than they do now.

"This bill is supposed to create more venues, so it's going to be more
competition," Shupe said. "But the fact that they are exempting us
means a lot."

On Apr 28, 5:51 pm, Dominique <dhellg...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Hello All,
>
> There was a recent article in the Baltimore Sun.
>
> From what I have been told the sun article did not have a very balanced
> outlook on the bill, maybe we could remedy this?
>
> Can we post a copy of that article on here for all to see?
>
> I personally have not been able to find it yet.(Just now hearing of it)
>
> -Dominique
>

> On Tue, Apr 28, 2009 at 5:40 PM, John Berndt <john.ber...@berndtgroup.net>wrote:
>
>
>
> > Dear Folks,
>
> > Sorry I've been out of meetings the last two weeks--couldn't be
> > helped--I had a project in NYC that had been planned for a half a year
> > I had to follow through on.
>
> > I'm working on my own written testimony (about two pages) which I'm

> > going to submit to Andrew.Smull...@baltimorecity.gov . If there are

[Tiffany DeFoe]

hey all- for those submitting written testimony- might be good to check out the most recent version of the bill beforehand.  I can't open it on my home computer, but in response to some written testimony, Andrew Smullian said- "We have amended the Bill so it is now a straight rezoning and will allow Restaurants in zones B1 and B2 and Taverns in B2, the ability to apply to have the zoning to obtain live entertainment."
sounds like maybe they've cut the licensing entirely??
T.

[Tim Reed]

Yes. Pages 6 – 21 have all been removed from the draft. It seems to be a zoning issue again with no Board, Staff, or Hospitality Services Director position. Existing businesses should not be affected whatsoever. I think, basically, this thing is dead in the water.

 

Tim Reed

Charles Street Development Corporation

36 S. Charles Street, FL 12

Baltimore, MD 21201

ph: 410.659.4978

fax. 410.659.7773

e-mail: tr...@charlesstreet.org

---

[Tim Reed]

Businesses in certain zoning districts that want live entertainment will have to qualify for a conditional use under the zoning ordinance.

 

From: baltimore-live-...@googlegroups.com [mailto:baltimore-live-...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Tiffany DeFoe
Sent: Wednesday, April 29, 2009 2:17 PM
To: baltimore-live-...@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: Submitted written testimonies + PR Update

 

hey all- for those submitting written testimony- might be good to check out the most recent version of the bill beforehand.  I can't open it on my home computer, but in response to some written testimony, Andrew Smullian said- "We have amended the Bill so it is now a straight rezoning and will allow Restaurants in zones B1 and B2 and Taverns in B2, the ability to apply to have the zoning to obtain live entertainment."

[k p]

hi guys. i've been watching/reading as much as i can that you guys
have posted while i was on tour. thanks for working so hard on this
for all the b'more musicians/artists and for those of us who wanted to
be a part of the past 3 weeks, but were scheduled to be away. i
appreciate all your efforts so much! thank you! i have tried to keep
up, long distance, but am back now and hoping to help in what ever way
that i can.

re: b'more sun article. i read it very quickly just now. sam caught
me in Texas last week and just skimming over how he quoted me in his
article, i wanted to clarify, to this group specifically, what i told
him. i said "i'm not familiar with the bill in it's current form" and
then sam gave me a brief update about the change in the zoning that
seemed to indicate some kind of grandfathering-in of existing venues
and an opening of places like the Harford road corridor for spaces to
present entertainment. i said "if what you say is an accurate
representation and summation of what has changed in the bill, then i
think that could be really positive for places like my neighborhood."

i just wanted to make sure that everyone on the BLAS group understands
that i gave my quote to sam with the caveat that i had not read and
was not familiar with bill in its current form and that i wished that
to be clear in my quote. but...i think the way it's written makes it
sound a little strange.

just wanted to throw that out there. i realize now that i shouldn't
have spoken on it all, as i'm not as familiar with it as you guys are
and what's going on.

again, i appreciate all the efforts everyone is making and how great
it has been to be involved with everyone. thank you for your time.

On Apr 28, 5:51 pm, Dominique <dhellg...@gmail.com> wrote:

> Hello All,
>
> There was a recent article in the Baltimore Sun.
>
> From what I have been told the sun article did not have a very balanced
> outlook on the bill, maybe we could remedy this?
>
> Can we post a copy of that article on here for all to see?
>
> I personally have not been able to find it yet.(Just now hearing of it)
>
> -Dominique
>

> On Tue, Apr 28, 2009 at 5:40 PM, John Berndt <john.ber...@berndtgroup.net>wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
> > Dear Folks,
>
> > Sorry I've been out of meetings the last two weeks--couldn't be
> > helped--I had a project in NYC that had been planned for a half a year
> > I had to follow through on.
>
> > I'm working on my own written testimony (about two pages) which I'm

> > going to submit to Andrew.Smull...@baltimorecity.gov . If there are

> > things you feel really strongly about, I think it worth doing the same
> > thing. Perhaps NOT identifying yourself as part of BLAS might make the
> > sense of broader support more palpable--to avoid the sense of a small
> > group working on this.
>
> > On the PR front, I've circulated some press releases and am in
> > discussions with teh Urbanite currently about a possible story. I'll
> > let you know if anything else happens on that front.
>
> > I had an idea for a tee-shirt which would have said MAKE IT EASY (big
> > print) to run a venue in baltimore (small print). These would have
> > been good if I had gotten them done for the workshops, but in the
> > absence of that, I'm not sure they make sense, unless things really
> > heat up and become contentious again. I'm curious what folks think of
> > that.
>
> > All the best,
>

> > John Berndt- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -