With vote coming to council tonight, Londoners sound off on amplified music bylaw
Local musicians say allowing amplified performances would help grow the music scene
A proposal to crank up the volume on London's bar and restaurant patios — set to be debated Tuesday night at city council — has residents locking horns.
One downtown resident, Catherine Charles, told the CBC's London Morning that she and her neighbours are being ignored.
"The lack of consideration for the residents has been absolutely stunning," Charles said. "This is a densely populated area, "it is not an arid wasteland."
The controversial bylaw established in 1993 prohibits any form of entertainment on patios, except acoustic music.
Last week, a council committee voted unanimously to repeal it, recommending instead that bar owners could apply for temporary, renewable permits to play amplified music on their patios.
The music would have to stop at midnight, the committee recommended
Dan Baerg, a local freelance drummer, said he's frustrated by the current bylaw. He told London Morning's Rebecca Zandbergen that booking outdoor gigs in the summer is almost impossible under the current rules.
"It's really difficult for (local) musicians to be able to give their talent to the city and grow the music scene when they could get a ticket for performing on a patio."
Bearg said cities like Austin, Texas, that promote their music scenes, have bands playing everywhere on the main street.
"And if you can't have that here, then the music scene is just not going to grow."
The council committee recommending the bylaw change spoke to multiple community organizations to gather input.
The decision now rests with councillors who will vote Tuesday night on the proposal.