Of particular concern to many is a quirk of the city's zoning code: Once the city's Board of Municipal & Zoning Appeals allows an establishment to have live entertainment, it can never take back the designation, even if the property changes hands.
"Maybe it is a nice person who wants it the first time, but this is live entertainment, and it runs with the property," Mary Pat Clarke said during a recent council debate in explaining her vote against the bill. "Two or three property owners later, who knows what it would be?"
Clarke predicted that her colleagues on the council would "spend a lot of time at the zoning board" fighting bar owners who abuse live entertainment privileges if the bill becomes law.
The bill squeaked through in mid-July - eight of the 15 council members supported it, six voted no and one abstained. The council must vote on it once more before the legislation is sent to Dixon. The mayor said in a recent interview that she is "waiting to see what will happen" before she decides whether to sign the bill or veto it.
A key factor in her decision, Dixon said, will be companion legislation being drafted by Rawlings-Blake and Councilwoman Rochelle "Rikki" Spector that would enable the zoning board to remove designations, such as those that allow live entertainment, if property owners repeatedly violate the rules. Other counties in Maryland allow special zoning designations to be rescinded.
"I think that if that bill is introduced and passed, there might be some assurances for the community," Dixon said.
Rawlings-Blake said she has built strong community protections into her bill: Zoning officials would have to seek community input as they decide whether to permit live entertainment, including notifying the City Council. Bar and restaurant owners would have to provide a detailed plan for the live entertainment and could not deviate from it. The zoning board would consider parking, safety and sanitation, and the establishment's proximity to churches and schools before allowing entertainment.
And after receiving the zoning designation, owners would have to obtain a live entertainment license from the state liquor board, which has the authority to revoke such a license.
The board has awarded 237 live entertainment licenses in Baltimore and has never revoked one, said liquor board spokesman Douglas Paige. The panel has received only three complaints about live entertainment since the 311 system was initiated, Paige said. But council members say they receive regular complaints about what they view as related activity: noisy patrons, parking violations and, in some cases, violence.
