[Chat] City Council Bill #08-0135 and possible adverse effect on Senator Theatre

Tue Jul 8 07:45:18 EDT 2008

                  Monday, July 7th, 2008

                  Dear Senator Theatre Patrons,

                  For those of you who share our interest in protecting and preserving The Senator Theatre, we want to inform you of a pending legislative matter that if passed, may serve to undermine the theatre's operational status. We are asking our friends and supporters to tune into this issue and what's at stake, and to help us defeat the legislation currently pending before the Baltimore City Council.

                  4th district Councilmember Bill Henry has introduced City Council Bill #08-0135 for the purpose of approving certain amendments to the established Planned Unit Development (PUD) for Belvedere Square. Some of the amendments are warranted. Those that are problematic relate to the outdoor concerts and outdoor movies on weekend evenings.

                  In recent years, the outdoor music concerts have expanded exponentially to the degree that they are severely undermining the economic viability of The Senator Theatre at a critical turning point in its 69 year history, due to lack of sufficient parking at The Square. The impact this has had on our operation was a factor that led to our foreclosure auction near-miss in February of 2007.

                  We supported the investment of millions in supplemental public funds for the economic redevelopment of Belvedere Square and we helped to originate and promote the Friday outdoor concert series. We also feel that the events in question serve to benefit our commercial and residential district and that they should continue this summer as scheduled.

                  We are quite concerned, however, about the underlying purpose, timing and effect of the PUD amendment legislation that has been introduced at the request of Belvedere Square current owners. We are also concerned that the PUD legislation is being rapidly propelled through the legislative process by our council representative on behalf of the developers, without apparent need and without following the appropriate procedures for proposed legislation of this type.

                  Our concerns are shared among a number of the independent small businesses in our district, who like us, were not informed of this legislative effort to amend the PUD in our commercial district until it was well underway.

                  It's been challenging for us as well to enlighten our patrons and area residents as to why we are so opposed to the legislation that is being moved along during the summer when many Baltimore City residents are not in town or focused on matters of this nature. We feel strongly that this proposed legislation will have negative ramifications that need to be better understood by all concerned before it becomes law. Time is of the essence at this juncture and most of our patrons and supporters remain unaware of what's taking place.

                  This Tuesday evening, July 8th, at 5:30pm, Councilmember Henry is hosting a community-wide meeting at the historic Govans Library - located at 5714 Bellona Ave., Baltimore, MD 21212 - about the parking and traffic congestion issues related to the PUD amendment legislation. We encourage all those who wish to better understand the ramifications of what is being proposed and the reasons for our concern to attend the meeting if possible. We regret the short notice.

                  Please join our timely efforts to shed light on what is being proposed and why, as we feel that it is misguided legislation that will be detrimental to The Senator Theatre and its future.

                  For those who cannot attend, we will provide follow-up information about the meeting and about next week's Baltimore City Council meeting to our listserv members.

                  If you have questions, concerns and/or comments please forward them to info at senator.com.

                  Sincerely,
                  Tom Kiefaber
                  410.435.3583

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