|
Beaches International Jazz Festival -
Request for Refund of Financial Penalty (East Toronto)
The Toronto Community Council recommends that:
(1) the financial penalty of $500.00 levied against the applicant for the band which played beyond 11:00 p.m. in front of 2298 Queen Street East (Fitzgerald=s) during the 1997 Beaches International Jazz Festival not be refunded;
(2) the financial penalty of $500.00 levied against the applicant for the band which played beyond 11:00 p.m. in front of 1971 Queen Street East (Lido=s on the Beach) during the 1997 Beaches International Jazz Festival not be refunded;
(3) a penalty of $500.00 per occurrence for bands which play beyond the curfew be included again in the permits issued for the Jazz Festival in 1998;
(4) a penalty of $500.00 per occurrence for bands which play at volumes in excess of the specified decibel level be included in the permits issued for the Jazz Festival in 1998, subject to any band first receiving a verbal request to turn down the volume by a by-law officer;
(5) the appropriate City Officials be authorized and directed to take the necessary action to give effect thereto; and
(6) staff report back to the Toronto Community Council on a method by which any future penalties collected for violations of the event curfew at the Beaches International Jazz Festival be made available to the East Toronto charitable organization Calvary Baptist Church Food Bank, and that this policy be put in place in time for the 1998 Jazz Festival, subject to the City of Toronto grants process.
The Toronto Community Council submits the following report (February 2, 1998) from the Commissioner, City Works Services:
Purpose:
To report on a request from Rob Tallis, Director of Operations, Beaches International Jazz Festival, to refund the $1,000 financial penalty levied in connection with two bands which played beyond the 11:00 p.m. curfew set for the 1997 festival.
Funding Sources, Financial Implications and Impact Statement:
If City Council were to support this request for a refund, it would need to allocate funds in the 1998 operating budget, as this is an unbudgeted item.
Recommendations:
It is recommended that:
(1) the financial penalty of $1,000.00 levied against the applicant for two bands which played beyond 11:00 p.m. during the 1997 Beaches International Jazz Festival not be refunded;
(2) a penalty of $500.00 per occurrence for bands which play beyond the curfew be included again in the permits issued for the Jazz Festival in 1998;
(3) a penalty of $500.00 per occurrence for bands which play at volumes in excess of the specified decibel level be included in the permits issued for the Jazz Festival in 1998, subject to any band first receiving a verbal request to turn down the volume by a by-law officer; and
(4) that the appropriate City Officials be authorized and directed to take the necessary action to give effect thereto.
Background:
Councillor Jakobek has asked me to report on a request from the International Beaches Jazz Festival to refund the penalty levied in connection with two bands which played beyond 11:00 p.m. at the Festival in 1997.
The former Toronto City Council, at its meeting of June 2 and 3, 1997, considered Clause 12 of Report No. 7 of the City Services Committee, titled "Beaches International Jazz Festival". City Council approved a temporary street closure of a portion of Queen Street, to permit 43 bands to play within the City road allowance. The street closure was subject to certain conditions, including two conditions included to address community concerns about noise during the event. These were:
(1) that the applicant deposit a $2,000.00 cheque with the City toward any possible infractions by street bands playing beyond the 11:00 p.m. closing limit; and that a fine of $500.00 per infraction be levied "to ensure that this deadline is respected and honoured" (emphasis added); and
(2) that a noise level restriction be incorporated into the permits issued to the bands to facilitate enforcement of the permitted noise level.
Comments:
The Beaches International Jazz Festival has been held for the past nine years and each year draws an increasingly large and appreciative audience. As it has become more successful in attracting both good musicians and large crowds of festival-goers, it has also created a certain amount of friction in the neighbourhood.
Prior to and during the planning of the 1997 event, City staff heard from a number of Beaches area residents who were concerned about the negative side effects on their community from the festival. This included the level and duration of noise generated by the bands and the crowds themselves; residents= difficulties trying to drive to and from their own homes during the event; and the general level of disruption to the community during the 3-day event.
Staff from the Police, T.T.C., Fire, Ambulance, and By-law Enforcement had a series of meetings to develop a plan which would address these concerns, while still allowing the event to proceed in a safe and orderly manner.
This plan was presented to City Services Committee on May 14, 1997. The Committee also received 21 written submissions, and 17 people came to speak to the Committee on the item.
The resulting conditions recommended by the Committee and approved by City Council (i.e. a curfew for the bands with a penalty for any band that broke the curfew; and noise levels to be specified in the permits themselves) were well-received by staff and the community. Staff were confident that their ability to levy a penalty in the event a band played beyond 11:00 p.m. would help them gain compliance with the requirement.
The location-specific permits issued to each band included these conditions. (A copy of the event permit and a sample of a band location permit are included as Appendices >A= and >B= respectively).
Experience of By-law Enforcement Staff During the 1997 Event:
Bands were permitted to play from 7:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. on Thursday, July 24, Friday, July 25, and Saturday, July 26th. No more than 15 bands had permits to play at any one time.
City by-law officers were on duty throughout the event to monitor the activity in the street, assist the police as necessary, and ensure that the bands remained within the designated permit locations, subject to the playing time and noise level restrictions in their permits.
Noise control staff indicated that while noise levels in general were acceptable, a number of bands played above the recommended noise level of 85 decibels, in spite of repeated requests to lower the volume. One band in particular had to be warned five times to lower the volume.
By-law officers confirmed that two bands did not stop playing at 11:00 p.m., although they were advised to do so by staff at 11:00 p.m. These were the band playing in front of Fitzgerald's at 2298 Queen Street East, which played until 11:07 p.m. on July 25th, and the band playing in front of Lido's on the Beach, at 1971 Queen Street East, which was finally shut down by staff at 11:10 p.m. on July 26th. City staff did not observe any other bands playing beyond the 11:00 p.m. curfew.
Therefore, in accordance with the conditions set by City Council, which specified a forfeit of $500.00 per infraction, we deducted $1,000.00 from the applicant's deposit with the City.
Following a staff debriefing after the event, we wrote to the Festival sponsor, Mr. Lido Chilelli, President, Beaches International Jazz Festival, to review what we thought went well and how we might improve the organization of the event in 1998. We explained why the $1,000.00 was deducted from the deposit, and returned the balance of $1,000.00. Because of the unacceptably high decibel levels of a number of bands, we also said we would be recommending similar penalties in 1998 for bands playing above the permitted decibel levels after a band has been approached by an officer to turn down the volume.
Conclusions:
The $1,000.00 penalty levied in connection with the two bands which played beyond 11:00 p.m. has been applied according to City Council=s instructions. These financial penalties were an effective mechanism to ensure co-operation from the festival sponsor and bands vis-a-vis the 11:00 p.m. curfew on playing music. Returning the penalty monies at this point would undermine the effectiveness of this approach to obtaining compliance which we had expected to use again in 1998.
These penalties were initially suggested by Councillor Jakobek, the Ward Councillor at the time, in order to satisfy the community's concerns that some restrictions be put on the event to deal with the noise in particular and the disruption to the neighbourhood more generally.
Therefore, I am recommending that the $1,000.00 penalty not be refunded; and in addition, that the same process be applied in 1998 both in relation to bands which play beyond the specified curfew, but also for those bands which play above the specified decibel level, once they have been approached by a by-law officer to turn down the volume.
Contact Name and Telephone Number:
Lesley Watson, 392-1525
The Toronto Community Council reports, for the information of Council, having also had before it during consideration of the foregoing matter, the following communications, copies of which are on file in the office of the City Clerk:
- (February 12, 1998) from Mr. Barry A. Smith;
- (February 16, 1998) from H. R. Merrens;
- (February 15, 1998) from Mr. Frank Loritz;
- (February 15, 1998) from Mr. Ronald Gold;
- (February 17, 1998) from Mr. Walter Hucker;
- (February 17, 1998) from Mr. John L. Chamberlin;
- (February 16, 1998) from W.T. Clayton; and
- (February 18, 1998) from Mr. Lorne Strachan.
The following persons appeared before the Toronto Community Council in connection with the foregoing matter:
- Ms. Gay Claitman, Toronto, Ontario;
- Mr. Walter Hucker, Toronto, Ontario; and
- Mr. Lido Chilelli, Toronto, Ontario.
|
