West 6th Street is in danger. Of what we’ve not been able to confirm (and, yes, this is a real promotion).
This could be a response by W. 6th Street bar proprietors to area push back against “bar creep” and early morning noise proliferating into more residential parts of downtown Austin, outside of established entertainment districts.
The Texas Bar & Nightclub Alliance (TBNA) has been active in recent months to reel in problematic bars operating and turning up the volume without an outdoor music venue permit.
A subset of TBNA representing only W 6th Street proprietors has engaged Drenner Golden to find alternatives to the conditional use permit language recommended by the Downtown Austin Plan for new bars in the CBD.
If you want to Save West 6th Street, you better get to drinking and voting June 8-12.
Since the event is postured around Randi Shade, we inquired with the Shade campaign and received the following statement…
“Randi listens to all sides, and works hard to bring people together to arrive at common sense solutions. Just as DANA supports Randi for her balanced approach and reasonableness, so do many other people and groups in Austin, because Randi is always willing to listen and try to find solutions that work well for everyone. Randi has strong urbanist principles, supports appropriate density, and is committed to smart and sustainable growth. Randi will keep working hard to make sure that downtown remains vibrant, and that all sides — owners, renters, business owners, and visitors — can be good neighbors to each other.”
I had no idea you felt this way. We were overpowered with semi-political operatives with other motivations. I don’t care for that. I am up for a fair fight – not one that is slanted from the beginning. I don’t care about the resolution at this point, just the unfair tactics that corrupted city politics to get us there.
http://bit.ly/jFufCz
Jude, to be clear, I think such distinctions should be made – but the way the ANC insists on making them right now would result in no outdoor live amplified music essentially anywhere but on E 6th and the Warehouse district – meaning, again, no Shady Grove. They tried it before; they’ll do it again.
and “long established” is basically squatters’ rights, which stinks on more than one level. It means we’ve gone back to rule-of-man instead of rule-of-law; and the man will be Jeff Jack if you don’t watch yourselves.
Mike, rule-of-law is precisely what the area is asking for. Until recently, the current laws weren’t being enforced. That there are bad actors not obeying the law is exactly the problem that is frustrating for an area besieged with more and more bars.
Jude, I don’t like meta-discussion like that. The ANC shut Shady Grove down, period. They may be against BOTH recorded amplified music AND live amplified music, sure, but that doesn’t change the fact that they are against live amplified music.
Perhaps you can relate to this, Mike: it is frustrating when people lump all types of rail into the same discussion. The resulting debate is not productive and you spend your time trying to educate people why the Redline sucks but urban rail has potential.
Similarly, it’s frustrating to watch a debate form around sound issues without acknowledging the contextual differences between a long established live music venue like Shady Grove, compared to a new bar that plays Ke$ha on their roof top until 2am, even though their OMV permit (if they have one) says to cut it off at midnight.
The codes I see here do not make any such distinction Jude:
http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/pace/music_noise_permit.htm
Which is not to say that I don’t think the subtleties should be debated.
Section 9-2-30 makes the distinction between Warehouse District, Sixth Street (East 6th), and everything else.
http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/pace/downloads/sound_ordinance_2011.pdf
Unless a more restrictive decibel limit is required by a temporary event impact plan, a condition on an outdoor music venue permit, or by another provision of this code, sound equipment for which a permit has been issued under Subpart B (Live Music Permits) may be operated at the following decibel levels:
Page 5 of 18(1) Up to 85 decibels between 10:00 a.m. and:
(a) 10:30 p.m. on Sunday through Wednesday;
(b) 11:00 p.m. on Thursday; or
(c) 12:00 midnight on Friday or Saturday.
(2) Up to 85 decibels at an outdoor music venue with an occupancy capacity
of 600 or fewer people located in the Warehouse District or Sixth Street
District, between 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 a.m
My guess is that it’s a reference to the fact that Tovo is expected to vote in line with Morrison who has created some of the less music friendly proposals at Council. She’s the Neighborhood Association approved candidate which is the group that has shut down amplified music at Shady Grove among others.
It’s difficult to imagine anyone truly believing that live music is the culprit or being threatened here. That’s just a sympathetic talking point being used for political posturing. Complete B.S., and everybody knows it.
People are fed up with recorded amplified music being blasted from outdoor patios after midnight and bouncing against residential buildings.
Jude, the ANC got Shady Grove shut down for a brief period. This is not just posturing; it’s real.
Mike, rethink who is pandering to the “live music” scene. You’ve got to see this is just a political gimmick.
Are you advocating for recorded amplified music at all hours at all costs?
Shady Grove is not an apples-to-apples comparison. It’s just one that is convenient as a talking point because the actors are being postured as neighborhood vs. live music. That’s not the case here.
Go to Momo’s, arguably the most popular live music destination on West 6th Street, and know they are good neighbors. They keep it inside.
The most insidious red herring debate surrounding this issue is pro-business vs. no-business. Complete B.S. designed to steer the conversation away from bad actors who do not comply with the cutoff times specified in their OMV.
Bars generate sales tax. Real estate owners generate property tax. We’re all generating money for the city.
That flyer is real? I thought it was another John Bush operation.