On April 14, 2003 the O’Hara Township (Pennsylvania) Zoning Hearing Board determined that a web site can be considered advertising and therefore an indicator of commercial activity. For that reason I am removing information on upcoming house concerts from this site. If you’re interested in house concerts in the Pittsburgh area, drop me a note.
April 4, 2006 update:
After three years of continued quiet hosting of occasional house concerts in my living room with the cease and desist order in effect, O’Hara Township suddenly chose to send us a letter threatening to take us to court and have us fined for each future occurence. Since we clearly stated at the time of the hearing in 2003 that we would consider any attempt to enforce the cease and desist order a violation of our rights under the First and Fourteenth amendments to the Constitution, we have chosen to file a civil rights complaint in Federal court. You can read the complaint here.
We’ve also established a blog called “Music In My Living Room” to foster discussion about the interface between zoning law and Constitutional rights. You can follow the progress of our complaint there and find out how you can help especially if you’re a performer or a house concert fan who understands how valuable such gatherings can be in a community. And just for fun, performer Kathy Moser has written a song called “Right Next Door” that you can listen to, learn for yourself and maybe even sing if it tickles your fancy and fits with your repertoire. If you DO get involved, be sure to let me know either by posting at the “Music In My Living Room” blog (> http://livingroommusic.blogspot.com/> ) or by sending me an e-mail.
oh, lord, ANOTHER thing we’re gonna have to worry about!!!
We’ve had several house concerts, and we’re known as the “dulcimer flop house” because anyone travelling through Cincinnati knows there’s always a bed or floor open here.
We’ve ONLY charged for the house concerts, but those were more of a workshop set up then a true “concert”.
When we’ve had musical “get togethers” we’ve invited the neighbors, too, and several of them did come by.
This government interferance in day to day lives is getting rediculous!
Thanks for the heads up on this, Dale, I’ll be interested in keeping an eye on it as it proceeds.
After three years of continued quiet hosting of occasional house concerts in my living room with the cease and desist order in effect, O’Hara Township suddenly chose to send us a letter threatening to take us to court and have us fined for each future occurence.
What on earth…I realise townships tend to be quiet affairs with little to do, but still…
Seems the authorities haven’t got a grip on the finer distinctions of “craic house”.
In Oz we once had an inspired leader by the name of Paul Keating. Apart from instigating all the reforms the current government is laying claim to, he also said a thing that stuck in my mind - he said: Politics is a battle between two camps: the “punishers and straighteners” and the “Fellow travelers”.
Now, although at the time, I instantly dissmissed the “fellow-travellers” thing as code to leftists and unionists, the “punnishers and staighteners” bit light-up in my mind for something to retain and review. ANd sure enough - layed out before me was a superclass of people who hate people.
In my memory they have shut-down and denied any joy or color to the folks around them - any hint of happiness will call them to rationalise and legislate it to grey dust.
These are the administrators of “Old-Folks-homes” that close down a pub a block-away for loud music because it “upsets the old ladies”. These people cramp the economy and destroy our youth.
And yet, at a certain time in life we get offered membership to the haters club. No young person need apply.
Did you take a ticket?
Let me tell you - I have always proclaimed my love of people! and in so doing, I have also attracted the haters who have come to kill me. I recently left employ with someone who openly proclaimed his hatred of people. Perhaps it was from when he was stabbed 20 times and left to die, perhaps it was from when his mother was attacked by the townsfolk, perhapse it was when I taught him to break his fetters for the first time. Well he took me for a tour of corporate-central-hate amongst the monsters lesser than he. A few years and many millions of dollars later, when a person lover bought no gain, I learned exactly what a punnisher is.
If anyone opposes music - you don’t have to ask twice - these are not fellow travellers!
I salute Sussan Casler whith all my heart!! I hope enough fellow travellers do too.
Hate to break it to all those tight-arses in O’Hara township, but she’s well within the bounds of the law doing what she’s doing…
After three years of continued quiet hosting of occasional house concerts in my living room with the cease and desist order in effect, O’Hara Township suddenly chose to send us a letter threatening to take us to court and have us fined for each future occurence. Since we clearly stated at the time of the hearing in 2003 that we would consider any attempt to enforce the cease and desist order a violation of our rights under the First and Fourteenth amendments to the Constitution, we have chosen to file a civil rights complaint in Federal court.
Good.
Once the judge rules in favor of the living room concerts, the township gorram govornment will be up the creek…
Townships think they’re so big and powerful, man it makes me sick sometimes. We who are into amateur radio have to deal with this as well.
A lot of C&Cs and local zoning laws say that one cannot put up an amateur radio antenna, but FEDERAL law says that states, cities or towns (even most private communities) cannot prohibit the insallation of an amateur radio antenna if done within the federally regulated rules.
They still try their hardest though…
My city tried to go after a neighbor of mine for putting up a G5RV dipole on his roof (dipoles are paralell with the earth, this one was one foot off the top of my friend’s roof). Long story short, he not only sued the bujeeesus out of them, but was able to get the FCC to fine the city for violation of federal law.
Another example…more applicable to the subject.
In high school my band and I participated with several other bands in a series of basement “unplugged” concerts to raise money for a charity that our school was involved in (i.e. no charge to see the show, but donations to the charity accepted). We obtained permission from all neighbors within 100 yards of the event as per law in this city, and called the city to see if there were any permissions we needed to proceed with the event. We were told that if we had the expressed written permissions of the pertinent neighbors we had no other requirements to meet.
After the second concert, the host house received a cease and decist order citing we had not obtained a permit to perform music in public (??? WTF that was all about, we never knew). We sent them a copy of the permissions obtained and the address of the event with a copy of the city’s own zoning ordenance citing the address as private residence.
The next week the city subpoenaed not only the owners of the residence, but every band member who participated.
What the city failed to overlook was that the father of one of the other band’s members was an attorney for the State DAs office… Not exactly in the civil venue, but he was effective nonetheless.
Long story shortened shorter…legal precedent now keeps the city from interfering in cases like this.
WTF that was all about, we never knew). We sent them a copy of the permissions obtained and the address of the event with a copy of the city’s own zoning ordenance citing the address as private residence.