It is time to start compiling a list of important questions and concerns regarding Richmond's cultural future to submit to our city council. We want your questions to focus on the problems in our artistic community.
After attending this past CAPS meeting, we know that if we want to see any major change, we must approach our city council. We all know how long it takes for anything to get accomplished in that council, so lets start now!!
If there are codes/laws that you feel are outdated, too severe, or unreasonable in any way, please send along. If you have questions regarding taxes, CAPS enforcement, code violation, etc, lets get cracking. If you feel that the city is killing our culture, then tell us how!
If you have any ideas for change, please include those as well.
We would like to compile these messages and try to schedule a meeting with our representative to hash over our concerns and answer any questions that we have before this list goes to city council. That meeting's date is in the works.
Please send any questions, concerns, lists, etc to: gallery5@gallery5arts.org
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2 COMMENTS:
Thanks for your effort to undertake this task. Here are a couple of areas to investigate further, both having to do with zoning:
1. I seems the current system, which is nominally "complaint based," is subject to frivilous complaints. I believe anyone can file a complaint, at no cost and in secrecy, however, the subject of the complaint is required to pay if an appeal is desired and is subject to stiff fines if found in non-compliance. Perhaps there should be a fee for filing a complaint, but more importantly, perhaps there should be transparency in the process so the source of the complaint is publicly revealed. In a more ideal situation, neighbors would talk to each other to work out their issues, and perhaps the enforcement process should be modeled in a way to facilitate neighbors coming together to resolve issues.
2. At the legislative level, the zoning ordinance should become more flexible and be modified to be more permissive towards multiple uses of property for business and cultural activities. Home occupation rules in particular should become less restrictive. Considering the economic stress the world and this community are under, zoning regulations should generally become more open to allow greater freedom in the use of property for the purpose of making a living. As the economy and environmental concerns constrict the options for making a living in traditional commercial spaces, our local zoning should be looking for ways to be tolerant as businesses and entrepreneurs try to find ways to creatively use their residential properties in environmentally sound and low cost ways.
John Moser
Northside Richmond
John, I agree with having the complaint process a little more difficult, One person could easily go after a place in which they hold a grudge. However all complaints are public. any business can request a copy of complaints against them from caps. I learned this at the caps meeting. So we can keep caps to busy to go out in the field by overwhelming them with requests of complaint records.
Secondly the zoning thing is atrocious. according to city code, all arts and entertainment venues fall under this definition
Nightclub means any place open to the general public where exhibitions, performances or other forms of entertainment, with or without stage, are provided and to which an admission fee is charged or for which compensation is in any manner received, either directly or indirectly, by cover charge, membership fee, or otherwise, or where refreshments, food or any form of merchandise are served for compensation before, during or after the entertainment provided. For the purposes of this definition, the phrase “other forms of entertainment” does not include television programming or recorded music provided solely as background entertainment that is merely ancillary to the primary business purpose of a restaurant or store.
Nightclub? Really!? that is completely restricting and can create a negative conotation towards arts culture. and if your not a nightclub your a dancehall. those are the only two choices in city code. I mean was this written in the 19th century? That part of the code must be expanded on so arts venues are not pigeonholed. I'm sure every gallery in the city would argue hands down that they are far from a nightclub.
Kevin Orlosky
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