And developers like Patrick Turner, casting an eye toward the future, have found ways around the city's zoning rules by hammering out agreements with the community. He called the city's entertainment regulations "pretty antiquated" and has an exemption to allow live music in his planned Westport development.
"That is called planning ahead," Turner said of his project. "We are going to make this a destination entertainment area."
Baltimore Sun researcher Paul McCardell contributed to this article.
Entertainment zoning
Rawlings-Blake's legislation would:
* Allow bars and restaurants to apply for a zoning change allowing live entertainment in the B2 business districts, which are scattered in various commercial corridors, including Federal Hill, Fells Point, Canton, Hollins Market, Charles Village, east North Avenue and York Road.
* Allow restaurants (but not bars) to apply for live entertainment in B1 districts, which include parts of Fells Point, Hampden and Highlandtown.
Current law:
* No live entertainment permitted in B1 and B2 zones.
* Bars and restaurants in B3, B4 and B5 zones, mostly downtown, can offer live entertainment without applying to the zoning board.
* Establishments in the industrial M1 and M2 districts on the fringes of the city can apply to the zoning board for permission to offer live entertainment.
Inside
A Sun map shows where live entertainment would be allowed under Rawlings-Blake's bill PG 16
