Help Pass The Harmonious Living Amendment Act Today!
Artwork by Elizabeth von Oehsen www.evonoehsen.com
PURPOSE FOR THIS ACTION
The Harmonious Living Amendment Act of 2021 was introduced to Council by Councilmembers Brianne Nadeau, Janeese Lewis-George, Christina Henderson and Brooke Pinto in the spring of 2021. The Legislation has since been stalled and has not been moved to a hearing in the Council. The Purpose of this Action is to politely request that Councilmember McDuffie schedule a hearing on this legislation before the Committee on Business and Economic Development in the next two months.
What Can You DO?
If you are passionate about the preservation of DC music and cultural spaces we ask that you COPY & PASTE the email addresses and text below into an email and let the Chairperson of the Committee on Business and Economic Development know that you want The Harmonious Living Amendment Act brought to a hearing before the end of this Council session.
USE THE INFO BELOW TO EMAIL THE CHAIRPERSON OF THE COMMITTEE ON BUSINESS AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Emails
kmcduffie@dccouncil.us, adifazio@dccouncil.us, oagwai@dccouncil.us, skarpinsky@dccouncil.us, callen@dccouncil.us, bpinto@dccouncil.us, MCheh@dccouncil.us, vgray@dccouncil.us
Text
Dear Chairperson McDuffie and The Committee on Business and Economic Development,
I [NAME] from [Neighborhood. WARD City] am writing to ask you to schedule a hearing on the Harmonious Living Amendment Act in the next two months. The proposed legislation addresses our city’s ongoing debate about public noise by adopting the “Agent of Change” principle, which establishes that the business or person responsible for a change to the city’s landscape must also be responsible for managing the impact of that change. As density, growth, and development surge in cities all around us, the Agent of Change principle places the burden of mitigating the acoustic impact of those shifts on the developers — NOT the street performers and entertainment performance venues toiling to provide for themselves and keep DC’s streets culturally vibrant.
This one-of-a-kind legislation includes a series of proposals tailored to fit the specific needs of our thriving, diverse, creative city. Developers must be required build to higher acoustic standards in entertainment districts; venues and existing property owners will be eligible for funding or tax incentives to retrofit their properties with acoustic upgrades; new renters and owners will be provided with disclosures stating the type of neighborhood they are moving into; and a survey will be conducted to provide resources for street performers to access in order to avoid future conflict over noise complaints and ensure harmony with DC’s older and newer residents alike.
We sincerely hope you will consider the timeliness and critical need for the preservation of Washington DC’s music and cultural spaces by bringing this legislation to a hearing.
Sincerely,
___________________