The Austin City Council voted down a proposal Thursday to exempt the annual South by Southwest festival from a city sound ordinance that led to the arrest of an Austin band in March.
The measure failed to pass the assembly on a 3-to-3 vote, where a majority was required.
"We still have a problem," said Councilman Brewster McCracken. "We didn't fix it today."
McCracken sponsored the proposal along with Councilwoman Betty Dunk-erley to prevent incidents like the arrests of members of the band Ozomatli during this year's South by Southwest festival.
Council members Danny Thomas, Daryl Slusher and Raul Alvarez voted against the changes. Mayor Pro Tem Jackie Goodman had not yet arrived at the Council meeting when the vote was taken.
It would not be fair for the Council to allow this exception for South by Southwest and set a precedent for other annual events that travel through Austin, Thomas said.
Overall the existing ordinance works well enough, Thomas said, and the Council needs to hear more input from residents in the area.
"I thought we caught all the loopholes [in the existing law]," Thomas said. "I thought it was pretty tight."
The City Council modified the noise ordinance in January 2003 to refine the existing law by setting residential noise limits at 75 decibels and the limit downtown at 85 decibels.
Dunkerley said she didn't realize that the ordinance could lead to something like the Ozomatli arrests. McCracken said the incident brought to light problems with the law.
Austin police arrested Ozomatli members and the band's manager on March 18 while enforcing the city noise ordinance.
The band took the stage late and played past 2 a.m., McCracken said.
Police charged one of the musicians with assaulting a police officer. Lawyers are working to get the charges dropped, according to the band.
Ozomatli, from California, declined a request from McCracken to play at the council meeting Thursday because of the lawsuit, even though the band was in town to play a show later that day.
Be the first to comment on this article!