Everyone, and welcome to Committee on Ordnance.

I'm Chairman Pedro Espinal.

Thank you all for being here.

And today is November Third, and the time is six forty six.

Oh, we get the uh change the gotta change that.

All right, 546.

Thank you so much, uh Vice Chair.

Madam Clerk, please call the role.

Chairman Espinal.

Present.

Vice Chairwoman Peterson, present.

Councilwoman Harris present.

Councilman Vargas is absent.

Council Arroyas present.

You have four present and one absent.

You have a quorum.

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Uh first item on the agenda, please.

Item number one is an ordinance and amendment of chapter 27 of the code of ordinances of the City of Providence entitled The City of Providence zoning ordinance approved November 24th, 2014, as amended to change articles two and twelve relating to entertainment.

Thank you.

So we had a public hearing on this item uh last week.

We had a large number of people that testify.

We take all uh testimonies into consideration.

Uh there is a small rewording or sentence uh that we need to do.

And for that we have me uh we invited Mr.

Bob Azar here to explain what that is.

Thank you, Mr.

Chair, members of the committee.

Robert Azar, Deputy Director, Department of Planning and Development.

There's a uh there's a request by the administration that there be a small tweak to the language in the definition of incidental entertainment.

As you recall, we made an amendment um during the public hearing, and uh it was uh to speak to um if incidental entertainment being provide is being provided as live music performance and the times when it's supposed to cease.

Um I'm gonna read to you the way the sentence was um okay was uh changed in committee, and then I'm gonna read to you uh the way we suggest that the sentence be reworded, and this is to align with uh other city ordinances relating to uh licensing.

So um the way it was um amended in the hearing, it says if incidental entertainment is provided as a live music performance, it shall cease at 9 o'clock p.m.

Sunday through Thursday and 11 o'clock p.m.

Friday and Saturday, and the night before a city recognized holiday.

That's the that's the first phrase of that sentence.

Um so the proposal here is to make that a complete sentence, and then the the next phrase that says pre-recorded music may continue through closing time, that'll be a separate sentence.

Uh just a change in punctuation there.

But then there's a slight change in the wording that we are suggesting, so that it would read as follows.

If incidental entertainment is provided as a live music performance, it shall cease at 9 o'clock p.m.

Sunday through Thursday.

That's all the same.

And here's where it changes a little bit.

And 11 p.m.

on Friday and Saturday, as well as on the Sunday night preceding a city recognized holiday that falls on a Monday.

This change would actually narrow the uh the days at which there could be um uh music it as incidental entertainment going until 11 o'clock p.m.

It would only be allowed on the Sunday night preceding a city recognized holiday that falls on a Monday, as opposed to say uh uh uh Wednesday night before a Thursday holiday or a Thursday night before a Friday holiday.

So uh that's the extent of the suggested change.

Thank you, Mr.

Azer.

And uh and that was the intended purpose of the proposal amendment.

Yeah, in in retrospect, um reviewing the uh the record and recalling what councilman Vargas um was saying uh in that hearing.

I think um we didn't properly capture exactly uh what he was saying as we were doing this on the fly, but but uh it's my recollection that this fully captures what he was intending.

Understood.

Any question from our yes, Councillor Peterson?

Thank you.

Um Mr.

Hazar, thank you for the presentation on this.

I did see that we also made the change to include um trivia and karaoke, which was something that was brought forward by Ward 14 businesses, so I appreciate that.

Um but but the one question I actually do have is and forgive me if this was something that was presented prior to the meeting, the public hearing last week, it says in the very next sentence if a bar or restaurant and it's um crossed out and says facility includes incidental entertainment.

Um do you by any chance know why we did the switch from bar or restaurant to facility and what does facility include so that was that was in this ordinance from the time it was introduced, as far as I can recall, um, and so uh uh a facility um could mean some sort of other um some sort of other use.

Um it so if you read the the definition of incidental entertainment, originally there was that that first sentence that said background music provided at a bar or restaurant.

Um the way it's written now where it says incidental entertainment is background music, um that would be something that would be allowed at any number of of uh uh different uses.

So for example, uh if you had an office use and you wanted to have an office party with incidental entertainment, this is explicitly or not explicitly, but implicitly saying that that it could happen there.

So uh I think the point being that uh virtually any use would be um okay to have incidental entertainment.

So a a public building, for example, like City Hall, if you wanted to have amplified music here, we would consider that to be incidental entertainment as long as it meets all of the standards.

Thank you.

So to confirm it's bar or restaurant and any other facility for lack of a better word, any other um building that's going to be uh amplifying music or sound.

Yeah, or or providing or providing um entertainment that uh that fits the definition of incidental entertainment, trivia karaoke.

Again, some something that's intended to be to be contained within a facility where the volume is low and um there's no cover charge and and so forth.

Okay, thank you very much.

Thank you, Counselor Peterson.

Anybody else?

So um uh it's closed to the public.

Uh we had the public hearing last week.

We we had a public hearing, we advertised the public hearing.

Uh over 60 people actually testify we were here for over four hours.

Well everyone that was here had an interest of being here and we allow them to speak.

Anyway, so uh Bob, will be making a motion on making the amendment?

Yes.

As I read into the record.

So I'll end it in a motion to amend as directed by Mr.

Barbaza is made by Counselor Peterson, second by counselor Harris.

Bob, would you mind stating exactly how you want this to be worded?

Yes.

So um starting with uh the sentence that begins with this is in the definition of incidental entertainment, starting um with the sentence that begins with if if incidental entertainment, it should now read if incidental entertainment is provided as a live music performance, it shall cease at nine o'clock p.m.

Sunday through Thursday, and 11 o'clock p.m.

on Friday and Saturday, as well as on the Sunday night preceding a city recognized holiday that falls on a Monday period.

And then the next sentence starts with capital P pre-recorded music, etc.

Thank thank you, Mr.

Azer.

All in favor, aye.

Oppose.

Do you guys have it?

Thank you.

Okay, thank you so much.

And uh so after hearing from uh the uh this DPC, our policy team, our colleagues, after hearing from the public, um we made the uh necessary adjustments as we move forward to uh enacting a new policy when it comes pertains to entertainment, one that it's uh uh up to date.

Uh we need to do that every so often, and we aim to make it more business friendly but also making it more safe.

So with that said, I'll entertain a motion to approve.

As amended, that's amended.

Made by counselor peterson, second, second by counselor Harris, all in favor, aye.

Opposed.

Oppose.

The ayes have it, thank you.

Motion is uh item number one is approved.

Thank you, Madam Clerk.

Item number two.

Item number two is an ordinance and amendment of chapter 27 of the code of ordinances of the City of Providence entitled The City of Providence Zoning Ordinance approved November 24th, 2014 as amended to change certain regulations regarding cannabis establishments.

Thank you.

Bob, you want to give a brief uh again understanding of what this item number two is.

Uh, you know, it it's just the alignment and taking the steps necessary to uh correspond with the state legislation that was drafted around this.

That that's exactly right, uh Mr.

Chairman.

That the um the way our ordinance had been written um after the state law changed uh was done um without knowing what the ultimate uh regulations were gonna be for licensing cannabis facilities, and the way that uh our ordinance was written is that you needed to get state approval before you got city approval, but the way they wrote their regulations is that you need to get city approval first before you get state approval.

So these rules simply um simply uh uh change it to reverse the order of operations, um and uh it's it's really to ensure compliance with state law so that if uh we have applicants, they're um they're allowed to go through the state process without any hitches.

Thank you, Mr.

Azer.

Any question from committee members?

Hearing none, I'll entertain a motion to approve.

Motion made by counselor Peterson, second by councilman Harris, all in favor, aye.

Opposed, the ayes have it, thank you.

Uh item number two is approved, and being that there is no further business in the calendar, I'll entertain a motion to adjourn.

Made by counselor Peterson, second by councilman Harris, all in favor, aye.

Opposed to the ayes have it.

This meeting is adjourned.

Thank you.