New Multi-day Sound Permit In the Works

A new or amended Noise and Sound Ordinance was rumored to be coming up for a hearing on the City Council’s Agenda for Jan 13.  So far, it has not made its way into the Draft Agenda, on the City’s website.

Let’s all hope it shows up soon, or, for one thing, a lot of local, national, and international companies, looking to spend their budgets on multi-day outdoor music events, are going to be up a creek. How can you plan for something if the passage of critical ordinaces affecting your plans are held up, until the last minute, from year to year.

Last year, on Feb 11, 2010, the Austin City Council declared an emergency, and passed, by a unanimous 7-0 vote, a new and much needed 96-Hour Sound Permit. This added a third “Music Permit” option to the existing 1-day Sound Permit, and 1-year Outdoor Music Venue Permit (OMVP), for businesses who wanted to do a multi-day, outdoor music event, but did not need or want to apply for a 1-year Permit. That Ordinance, and with it, the 96-hour Sound Permit, expired 4-1/2 months later, on June 30, 2010.

In August of 2009, I had requested a meeting of the applicable City of Austin department managers, warning that the new Outdoor Music Venue Permit requirements, put in place the previous March, had created a situation, where, if additional action weren’t taken, to create a new,  Multi-day Sound Permit, many business owners, local, national and international, would find themselves unable to spend their budget dollars, producing their planned multi-day events, during the days of the next SxSW Festival.

At that meeting, it was agreed that the existing options in the Code did not provide a legal remedy for an existing, growing business and regulatory need. As a result, the Live Music Task Force, the Music Commission, myself, and others, worked to craft and recommend the draft of a new, 96-Hour Sound Permit Ordinance. The City of Austin took action, approved the ordinance, and remedied that need.

In that 4-1/2 months, between the Feb 11th passage, and the June 30 expiration, the following businesses received a 1-Day, 96-Hour, or 1-year Permit, and made a substantial contribution to the Austin economy.

The following list says more than any “picture worth a thousand words”, or I, myself, could hope to say, about the vitality of the music and creative businesses, in our town. Love you, Austin:

  1. Austin New Church
  2. Club de Ville
  3. Creekside Lounge
  4. Red 7
  5. The Wave
  6. Club Primo’s
  7. Uchi Sushi
  8. Centro De Alabanza El Camino Cristiano
  9. Red Shed Tavern
  10. Ethan Lee Smith
  11. El Tejano
  12. Cheer Up Charlie’s
  13. YMCA of Austin
  14. Austin Motel
  15. Snack Bar
  16. Custom Tattoo’s from the Soul
  17. Austin Speed Shop
  18. Juan in a Million
  19. El Tejano
  20. Weirdo’s
  21. Mother Egans Irish Pub
  22. Hyde Park Bar & Grill
  23. Texas Music Museum
  24. Home Away
  25. Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network
  26. School of Rock
  27. Irie Bean Coffee Bar
  28. Messiah Lutheran Church
  29. Ranch 616
  30. Shear Madness
  31. 94 Rainey St
  32. Freddie’s Place
  33. Guero’s Taco Bar *
  34. Speakeasy
  35. Austin Peace Pipez
  36. Tiniest Bar in Texas
  37. Austin Pets Alive
  38. Cedar Door
  39. Clive Bar
  40. The Liberty
  41. Galaxy Room
  42. Dog & Duck Pub
  43. Taco Deli *
  44. Music Gym *
  45. Waterloo Records
  46. Club 1808
  47. Trophy’s
  48. Mugshots
  49. Shangri-La
  50. Lustre Pearl
  51. Headhunters Club
  52. Dorham’s Backyard
  53. Aussie’s Bar & Grill
  54. Encore
  55. Emo’s Annex
  56. Localiter
  57. Lovey’s Loot Boutique
  58. The Rooftop
  59. Cream Vintage
  60. MWTX – Transmission Entertainment *
  61. Do512 *
  62. Rare Mag – Official Guiness St Patrick’s Day Party *
  63. Urban Outfitters *
  64. High Beams Events
  65. Hoeks Pizza
  66. Boite Enterprises
  67. Union Park
  68. El Rival Club
  69. Joe’s Bar & Grill
  70. Lightning Mfg
  71. Hill’s Cafe
  72. Wide Angle Group
  73. Congress Avenue Baptist Church
  74. The Boiling Point (sic) Pot?
  75. Austin Gay and Lesbian Pride Foundation
  76. Lanai Rooftop Lounge
  77. ProArts Collective
  78. Empire Room
  79. White Mountain Foods
  80. Ski Shores Cafe
  81. East First Concert Hall *
  82. Sustainable Waves *
  83. Doc’s Motorworks
  84. Chupacabra
  85. Lovely Austin Boutique
  86. Falling Whistles; Lupe Arts
  87. Austin Wine & Music Festival
  88. DW Studio Productions
  89. ATX Sports Bar *
  90. Pluckers
  91. Cedar Street Courtyard
  92. Rainforest Partnership
  93. Shuck Shack
  94. Billboard.com
  95. Habana Calle 6 Patio *
  96. Freebirds
  97. Gypsy Sun Vintage/Big Rig
  98. “Khabele School”
  99. West’s Wine Art and Music
  100. Light Bar Terrace
  101. Ladies are Funny Festival
  102. Nine Mile Records
  103. Iron Gate Lounge
  104. Empire Room
  105. Alice in Wonderland
  106. La Condesa/Malverde
  107. Texanza
  108. Balcones Recycling *
  109. Whip In *
  110. Jaime’s Spanish Village
  111. Juicy Tart
  112. Perla’s Seafood & Oyster Bar
  113. Villa’s Taco Shack
  114. Partnership for Children

* Past or present Austin City Permits Client
Source: City of Austin Interactive Development Review Permitting and Inspection

This entry was posted on Friday, December 31st, 2010 at 12:36 PM and is filed under Outdoor Music Venue Permit, Sound Permit, The Code. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

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