Pacific Grove to allow live music on sidewalks

PACIFIC GROVE, Calif. (KION) The Pacific Grove City Council voted in favor of an emergency ordinance concerning outdoor dining rules.

The city approved it 7-0 last night, and the ordinance will make live music on Pacific Grove sidewalks legal for a year.

"I think everyone considered that point and said, you know, yeah, it's kind of not enough of a consideration to stop doing it, because it stops at nine o'clock. You know, it's, we have regulations, so that if people were doing, you know, other family activities, it's not going to disrupt them too much."

Pacific Grove's update to its live music ordinance is drawing some mixed reactions. The new ordinance would allow for live outdoor music from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., as long as businesses have a permit.

It would also be in effect for about a year before the city puts it up for debate again. The co-owner of Wild Fish Restaurant, Liz Jacobs said, she's glad they've been given the okay for live music to happen on their property.

"It's a scene, it really is a fun time,” said Jacobs. “When you sit down, and there's just this energy and you're eating great food and talking with people. It enhances the quality of life in a really deep way."

According to Jacobs, they already have a jazz band of local residents who will be playing live on Friday and Saturday evenings. But Pacific Grove's mayor says there's still work to be done.

The city intends on studying all aspects of the outdoor dining scene. This includes safety related to the placement of parklets and noise that could come from the live music.

“We're going to be still looking at the sound levels and what that means for the people that live downtown or near downtown,” said Pacific Grove’s Mayor Bill Peake. “But we've had a lot of positive responses from folks about the ambiance and we think that it will attract folks to downtown and help our local businesses thrive.”

Whether the noise will end up being a major issue for residents remains to be seen. But, the mayor also tells me that he expects this change to last.