Planning commission meets to discuss live music rules tonight

Plus, what’s in this week’s paper.

Some nice goodies in this week’s paper. We sent a reviewer to check out Reko Rennie’s "Patternation" at the Kluge-Ruhe; I spoke with the artist Joseph Holston, a D.C.-based African-American artist whose work opened Friday at Warm Springs Gallery; and house critic Jonathan Kiefer peeped Casino Jack, the latest distribution effort from ATO.

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Remember last month when the city’s head planner gathered the local music community to outline a proposal that would make hosting music by-right for businesses? In the next in what’s been a colorful series of meetings, the City Planning Commission meets tonight, 5:30pm at City Hall, to discuss the plan, under which most businesses that have been hosting music may be able to keep hosting—no special use permit necessary.

Read more about the history here. As the law stands, many businesses that host music must apply for a special use permit—the application fee alone costs $1,500. (Four businesses currently hold such permits: The Jefferson Theater, The Southern, The Paramount and Club 216.)

At a meeting last month at CitySpace, Belmont business owners argued that the Belmont neighborhood was being unfairly penalized. Tolbert encouraged the crowd to keep concerns about Belmont separate, offering to take up the two issues—what permits businesses need to host music, and the Belmont noise juggernaut—separately. “Ninety-nine percent of the changes we’re talking about making now, everyone is going to support. As soon as we throw Belmont in there, we’re going to run into a buzzsaw,” Tolbert said at the meeting.

City planner Jim Tolbert at last month’s CitySpace meeting.

 

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