An entertainment license proposal could strengthen sound, safety and security regulations in downtown Austin's late-night districts, including one known for its "dirty" reputation. Austin City Council unanimously supported a late September resolution that seeks to reduce downtown overcrowding and more consistently enforce sound ordinances. City staff must bring any recommended rule changes back to council members for final approval by the end of the year, according to the resolution. There is no certainty yet as to what changes, if any, might result from the resolution, said Don Pitts, program manager of Austin's Music and Entertainment Office, a division of the city's Economic Development Department tasked with initially handling the proposal. "Conceptually, the idea is to create an efficient process that could wrap together several permits into one primary permit, which could be called an entertainment license," Pitts said.

District of interest

The entertainment license proposal coincides with recent South by Southwest concerns that downtown Austin's most historic district, East Sixth Street—affectionately known as "Dirty Sixth" by many locals—is "severely overcrowded" during the annual music and media conferences. That statement has reignited debate among downtown stakeholders about how best to manage downtown's entertainment districts, particularly along East Sixth Street where there are 59 full-time bars and numerous other pop-up events during SXSW, said Molly Alexander, associate director of the Downtown Austin Alliance, an advocacy group seeking to preserve and enhance downtown's value and vitality. "The bars can remain, but they can also add more daytime uses," Alexander said, citing one example in which Turf N' Surf Po'Boy took over the previously underutilized kitchen at Lavaca Street Bar in the Warehouse District. "It's about creating a richer, fuller experience in the entertainment districts." Alexander said DAA throughout the years has helped recruit non-bar uses to East Sixth Street such as Easy Tiger and Alamo Drafthouse Cinema. In addition, owner Fred Schmidt operates All About Music, a retail store that recently relocated within the party district. Sales during SXSW normally reach levels seen during the holiday shopping season, but business has been down the past few years, said Schmidt, who also owns Austin Rocks and Toy Joy in downtown's Second Street District. "Downtown is not currently known much as a place to shop, but Second Street is starting to change that equation," he said. By better regulating activity using the proposed entertainment license, Schmidt said the East Sixth Street district could also become rejuvenated through new uses. "It's the only way to get it done because it may take too long or never happen organically on Sixth Street," he said. Shannon Sedwick, owner of Esther's Follies, a downtown entertainment staple the past 37 years, serves as the long time president of 6ixth Street Austin, also called the Old Pecan Street Association, a group of East Sixth Street businesses. She said she has watched the cyclical nature of historic Sixth Street and that more diverse uses will come to the corridor as the market allows. "Change is going to have to happen on its own rather than have the city or the DAA dictate that we must have a certain amount of one business," Sedwick said. Sixty percent of East Sixth Street business owners agreed to renew a five-year service plan between the city, effective Oct. 1, to keep the East Sixth Street Public Improvement District intact. The East Sixth Street PID taxes businesses and uses that money to fund improvements in the historic corridor. East Sixth Street business owners generally support more safety and permitting regulations, but that is not likely to result in more daytime uses or reduce how many people visit Austin each SXSW season, said Allen Kaplan, consultant for 6ixth Street Austin. "We're all for more restaurants and more diverse entertainment, but you're not going to get a boutique that sells soap on a rope [on East Sixth Street]," he said. "That's fine for Second Street, but that's not fine for Sixth Street."

'Festival' vs. historic street

Opinions are also divided on the best long-term look for East Sixth Street. The city last year proposed repurposing the historic corridor into a festival street, the same concept planned for Second Street. The $19 million proposal has mostly remained unchanged since first being proposed because no funding is available, said Howard Lazarus, director of the city's Public Works Department. Bond money would most likely be needed to help fund the project, he said. Reaction so far has been mostly positive, Lazarus said, although some business owners have expressed concern about any disruptions construction might cause. "Sixth Street is an Austin icon, so any time you do something there, you're going to have some strong passion," he said. "Most stakeholders support the concept and are excited about it." The construction contract could be written to incentivize builders to be efficient and as nondisruptive as possible, Lazarus said. But construction is not as much of a concern as historic preservation, said Chef Shawn Cirkiel, who has served as vice president on the 6ixth Street Austin board the past four years. "One thing they don't build any more is history," Cirkiel said. "Any time you talk about strangling some of that energy, it's a little stressful for everybody because of the unknown [factors]." 6ixth Street Austin business owners instead endorse an alternative proposal from Girard Kinney, principal of Kinney Architects Inc. and a co-author of the city's Great Streets proposal, which calls for dedicating approximately 50 percent of a street corridor to pedestrians. The festival street concept, which eliminates curbs in favor of a flexible lane that doubles as parallel parking spots during non-peak hours, is a type of Great Street, Kinney said, but it is not the right street for East Sixth Street. Instead, his alternative proposes angled parking that adds 50 percent more spots, while the city plan at times reduces parking by nearly half, Kinney said. He is also advocating for uncovering the original brick streetway currently hidden by asphalt, although the exact cost for his proposal is uncertain. "That whole process can be done in a matter of weeks rather than the years the city would take to do what they want to do and at a fraction of the cost," he said. Schmidt, a downtown retail business owner who supports the city proposal, admits any disruption longer than three to six months can kill a business, but that is not the goal of the festival street proposal. "Everybody understands you don't want to kill the Golden Goose and kill the fun," Schmidt said. "Most of the adults in the room agree this is a really important development that will help turn the corner for Sixth Street."