Randy Gibson
Extended dance bylaw clamps down on electronic music events
It may not have the cachet of the noise bylaw debate that churns up each summer at festival time but one young Calgary promoter has clashed with the city over a dance bylaw intended to regulate the rave parties of years past.
Calgary’s Extended Dance Bylaw was written in 2000 amidst concerns about rave parties and their reputation as drug-fuelled despoilers of our youth. It remains on the books. Diane Danielson a former alderman who could not be reached by press time and who introduced the bylaw to council was quoted in the Calgary Sun just before the bylaw passed saying “I don’t like raves. I don’t want raves.”
This along with the scope and wording of the regulations have critics claiming the law is written to prevent events outright and discriminates against a specific type of music rather than looking out for public safety as the law states. There was vocal opposition to the bylaw when first introduced and its restrictions continue to needle opponents.
The bylaw regulates the size of event venues limiting the number of people that can attend an event based on the occupant load rather than tickets sold. The bylaw applies to events over 299 persons; events held at a venue that doesn’t normally host dance parties; all ages parties; events featuring “electronic and synthesized music which is performed or played continuously throughout the duration of the event”; and events that go until the “late night hours.” Any event that falls within these parameters is required to seek a licence.
The bylaw also contains a clause that allows for the inclusion of “such additional conditions as are in the opinion of the Chief License [sic] Inspector reasonably necessary to protect the safety health welfare or property of the attendees of the Extended Dance Event or the neighbourhood of the proposed venue.” Critics maintain that many of these definitions are too broad or open to interpretation.
Richard Zwarych the 17-year-old promoter of a dance event (Defective 08) held on August 9 tried to get around the bylaw in several ways. He limited the number of tickets sold included live music to be played between the sets of DJs excluded those under 16 and capped the event’s hours. However he was told by city officials that he was still in violation of the Extended Dance Bylaw.
Ken Stewart the city licence inspector who dealt with Zwarych’s event argues that these details can all be sorted out ahead of time by contacting the city’s licensing department. “If he’d contacted the licence office before he planned the event it would have been a good idea rather than leave it a week or two before” says Stewart.
The cost of a licence however and the required attendance of police and ambulance personnel were enough of a financial burden to prevent Zwarych from applying for a licence. “I made sure I was getting around it but apparently I wasn’t” he says. “The square footage of the venue was the cause of concern. It was too big and so the bylaw affected me and they thought it was a rave but it’s not a rave. It’s just a mess.”
There were last-minute discussions about the nature of the event that gave Stewart pause but he was not swayed by Zwarych’s inclusion of live music. “We have got into discussions about what is electronic and synthesized music and I’ve been provided with some information from the applicant about that and I’ve defined what I understand to be electronic and synthesized music” he says.
The event was planned for the Acadia Recreation Centre (ARC). Zwarych had to change venues at the last minute however moving just outside of city limits after the city contacted the ARC and told its administrators that the event was without a proper licence. The ARC subsequently cancelled its agreement with Zwarych.
With the last-minute changes turnout for the party was significantly lower than anticipated and Zwarych claims he’s out a lot of money though he can’t give an exact figure.
Moving an event outside city limits is one way organizers can get around the bylaw. Unfortunately this moves the party farther away from police and ambulance services should something go wrong. A 2002 city of Calgary review of dance bylaws in other cities stated this should be a concern when event regulations are put in place.
In Vancouver the survey found that “authorities are cognizant of the fact that prohibition of raves will result in illegally held events that will be less safe than those currently held.” It goes on to say that multiple deaths could occur at these events.
Craig Boone who does light and sound for everything from Calgary Police Service events Zoo Lights and Canadian Idol has been trying to get the bylaw changed since it was created. He argues that the law as it’s written is discriminatory against a certain type of music and has caused him to lose a “significant amount of income” from lost shows while preventing Calgary from hosting large electronic concerts. “We have big rock concerts but we wouldn’t have a bill like Daft Punk Chemical Brothers a big huge outdoor electronica festival. We’re missing that” says Boone.
He believes that if the city wants to regulate electronic dance parties it should apply the same set of rules to all events. “This city should have a bylaw that treats every event equally” he says. “This was written by zealots who hate the funky stuff.”
As for Zwarych his days as a young promoter are now in question at least within the city. “I might not throw an event in Calgary again” says Zwarych “I might look to Edmonton.”
