Rules softened for street acts

<www.santacruzsentinel.com/archive/2002/December/12/local/stories/02local.htm>

December 12, 2002
By DAN WHITE
Sentinel staff writer

The City Council has eased space limits for downtown street buskers.
If the council had done nothing Tuesday night, donation-seeking
musicians and political tablers would have been forced at least on
paper to stay at least 14 feet from building entrances, street
corners, intersections, phones, fountains and benches, starting next
month.
But the council reduced the space limit to 10 feet. The council did
not roll back its space restrictions on panhandlers or sidewalk sitters,
who still must stay 14 feet from various Pacific Avenue spots.
The council called the change a compromise.
Councilman Scott Kennedy said the council and its Downtown
Commission already have spent too much time on the issue and have
far more important things to deal with, including millions in expected
budget cuts next year.
Miss Chief, who once went topless to protest new downtown
behavior rules, said 10 feet will still drive musicians away. She said
the city should let musicians follow self-imposed guidelines.
The decision came after more than four hours of discussion and
testimony from dozens of speakers, including marimba players saying
they felt like “outlaws.”
Donation-seeking musicians may also be subject to a rule requiring
them to move 100 feet after playing in front of the same store for an
hour. The council has yet to make a final decision on this rule.
Councilman Mike Rotkin said the must-move rule is not “Draconian”
because the council lifted the idea from guidelines used by the
musicians. The council’s version, however, uses much stronger
language than the voluntary version, which states a “one-hour
rotation is thought to be reasonable.”
The council left open the possibility of “exemption zones” for street
acts.
There is a long tradition of street performers here, including some
who are now world famous: Gillian Welch, Bob Brozman and Thoth
included.
While some street acts say they are harassed by merchants, some
merchants say they’ve been driven to grief by troublemakers. Carolyn
Heinrich, owner of the Pacific Trading Company, left the council
meeting in tears after saying she respects many street acts but that
some are “very disrespectful and uncooperative.”
“What is your definition of street musician?” she asked. “Someone
with a drum just banging in front of our door?”
The council passed stricter behavior rules for downtown in July,
calling them a response to pushy panhandlers and an intimidating
downtown atmosphere. Among the rules: a ban on Hackey Sack,
increased space setbacks for panhandling and an outright after-dark
ban on all panhandlers.
Street musicians protested loudly because the rules would also affect
them. The council gave them a seven-month reprieve while asking its
all-volunteer Downtown Commission to wade into the debate.
But on Tuesday the council did not go along with a commission
request that the city refrain from regulating downtown performers at
all for a trial period. The commission wanted to let musicians play for
change while working under voluntary guidelines.
Assistant City Manager Martin Bernal said that suggestion would
have hampered the ability for police and merchants to deal with
problems.
Councilwoman Cynthia Mathews called the commission plan
problematic “because there is nothing enforceable in the guidelines.”
She suggested the reduced space limit for musicians.
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Contact Dan White at dwhite (at) santa-cruz.com