Members of the music community visited City Council’s meeting to oppose an item on Council’s consent agenda that would require restaurants hosting music without special use permits—such as The Twisted Branch Tea Bazaar, The Box and Maya—to get one by March 1, and others without the ability to get permits—including The Garage and C’ville Coffee—to cease hosting music.
The item was pulled from the consent agenda, and sent back to Neighborhood Development Services, which is now charged with finding a way to make the approval process easier. Those plans are expected for early Spring, until which no venues will be shut down.
Of the changes, Mayor Dave Norris said, "As [Director of Neighborhood Development Services Jim] Tolbert can attest, I was rather appalled when I heard that this effort was on the consent agenda."
Councilwoman Kristin Szakos noted that one of the positive things that came out of the Belmont noise crisis was a sound ordinance. Sam Bush, who runs the Garage on N. First Street through Christ Episcopal Church, said that the ordinance was one of the "laws and regulations in place that keep the Garage in check."
Maya owner Peter Castiglione said, "There is a fine line between a restaurant that supports music, and a music hall," noting that Maya would be placed at a competitive disadvantage by rules that grandfather in restaurants that have hosted music since 2003, like South Street Brewery and Miller’s.
Jacob Wolf, who books local concerts mostly at the Twisted Branch Tea Bazaar, said that some restaurants generate as much as 20 percent of their revenue from hosting music. He asked, "In a time when so many small businesses are suffering, can they withstand a 20 percent reduction?"
Does local music need further regulation?
