The Annapolis City Council delayed action on two proposed ordinances at Monday night’s meeting until the new year.

One would establish a year-round beer and wine license for art establishments and another would place restrictions on noise from gas-powered leaf blowers and party boats within the city.

Beer and wine licenses for art establishments

In May Gov. Wes Moore, a Democrat, signed into law a bill that allows for art establishments in Annapolis, like Maryland Hall, to apply to receive one annually renewed liquor license to serve beer and wine for on-site consumption. This law is only designated for Annapolis.

Though the legislation passed in the General Assembly and will be enforced at the state level, the ordinance proposed by the council is meant to enshrine it into city code.

The proposed ordinance sparked confusion among council members after DuJuan Gay, a Ward 6 Democrat, asked Mike Lyles, the city attorney, how a public comment from John Purnell, vice president of the Colonial Players, has been incorporated in the ordinance. Purnell asked the council to “harmonize” current legislation with the proposed ordinance. The Colonial Players is a nonprofit theater company that operates from September-May.

The proposed ordinance does not take into account older legislation passed prior to Moore’s signing in May, Purnell said at the meeting Nov. 27, arguing that this will cause confusion among arts establishments in the city. In 2017 the council voted to allow a temporary special class liquor license to theaters, but it is unclear how exactly it might interfere with the new proposed ordinance.

“The arts establishments won’t know which piece of legislation applies [to them] unless the City Council makes a nice, clear distinction between the two,” Purnell said Tuesday.

An arts establishment is defined in the proposed ordinance as a nonprofit organization primarily engaged in the display, sale or demonstration of art by individual artists or a group of artists or the instruction of participating clients in creating art or live performances, including musical acts or theater performances.

The confusion continued as Alderman Ross Arnett, a Ward 8 Democrat, shifted the conversation to an amendment proposed by Alderman Elly Tierney, a Democrat from Ward 1, that would require an establishment to be open year-round to qualify for the license, and places limits on when a license holder is authorized to sell or serve beer and wine. The original ordinance proposal gives the Alcoholic Beverage Control board the authority to decide when liquor can be sold.

Tierney was absent from the council meeting Monday due to a scheduled vacation, an outreach email stated.

Arnett asked how this amendment applies to organizations in the city other than Maryland Hall, the establishment that lobbied for the state legislation in the General Assembly.

“[It] kind of precludes any other kind of arts organization that does not happen to be a year-round organization,” he said.

Lyles cautioned the council on making any “adjust[ments] or amend[ments] to what the state is mandating” without further review of what is being proposed.

After further deliberation on the intent of Tierney’s amendment as well as to what businesses the state-mandated ordinance will apply, the council voted to postpone action on the ordinance until January when Tierney returns, in addition to a supplemental resolution that establishes a $1,000 fee for the license.

Noise prohibitions and enforcement

Alderman Rob Savidge, a Democrat from Ward 6, sponsored a bill that would ban the usage of gas-powered leaf blowers and other items such as sound emitters meant for pest deterrence. The bill stemmed from complaints that Savidge has received from constituents about receiving migraines from a neighbor next door.

“I was like, well if it’s not good for some humans, then they’re probably not good for pets to be subjected to this high-frequency sound for continual periods,” he said.

The bill also adds powerboats to the list of items that are subjected to Maryland’s Environmental Noise Standards. It will be enforced by the Annapolis City Department of Planning and Zoning, which will measure the sound waves. Savidge said the bill needs further staff guidance on how standards can be enforced.

Edilene Barros, the only resident to speak on the ordinance that night, expressed her opposition.

“This is crazy,” she said. “So now you now you have to stop boats and cars?”

The council voted unanimously to move the ordinance back into the Environment Matters Committee, and it will be considered again in February.