Choosing partners in teen-dance fight http://community.seattletimes.nw source.com/archive/?date=20000917&slug=4042975 March 4, 2012

The fight over teen dancing in Seattle is really a fight over Jeremy Konick, 13 and a passionate fan of punk music.

He's 6-foot-2 and looks like he could take care of himself in a crowd.

But he's too young to attend most of the punk shows that come to the city each month.

The city's 15-year-old teen-dance ordinance doesn't bar Konick from those shows. But promoters say the law makes it so costly for them to let minors in - requiring extra security and insurance - that most no longer bother.

Whether that ordinance should be relaxed to allow all ages into dances has become the subject of a fiery public debate, pitting police against music promoters and the mayor against the City Council.

If you listen to police, mixing teens with adults, music and in some cases alcohol spells trouble.

If you listen to music promoters, they have a right to tap into a market of music-loving teens.

If you listen to Mayor Paul Schell, young teens need to be kept away from more adult clubs where security and innocence could be at risk.

If you listen to City Council members, there are ways to keep teens safe without barring them from music shows.

And if you listen to Jeremy Konick, you'll hear this:

"I want more options than just one club that will have two punk shows every month," said Konick, an eighth-grader at Seattle's Alternative School 1.

He saw his first show, Botch and The Blood Brothers, last year at RKCNDY. It was the last show at the all-ages club, which closed last October.

The 1985 Seattle law that restricts teen access to music clubs was a response to alleged drug and sex abuse at The Monastery, a now-defunct club on Boren Avenue.

But dance-oriented music, like hip-hop and electronica, is gaining popularity. And pressure is mounting to relax the restrictions. Based on the recommendation of a task force of law officials, teens, social workers and music promoters, the City Council voted 7-1 Aug. 21 for the All Ages Dance Ordinance, opening music venues to minors under certain conditions.

Two days later, the mayor vetoed the ordinance - sparking a debate over the city's role in regulating behavior and setting up a council vote tomorrow on whether to override the veto.

The tussle has revealed considerable confusion over the law. Those who enforce it and those who live within its restrictions can't agree what it says.

And it has politicized a group of people it affects most - teens.

A Bumbershoot concert earlier this month by the pop band Death Cab for Cutie turned into a political rally when guitarist Chris Walla, 24, whipped out a cell phone, dialed the mayor and chided his answering machine.

"We're . . . embarrassed and offended that you vetoed what could have been a great piece of legislation," Walla scolded in front of 700 cheering fans. Across Seattle Center, teens distributed 9,000 fliers decrying what they saw as the tyranny of the city's dance law. A teen-run Web site, dancedefense.com, sounded a drumbeat for change.

Their message: Teens will find a place to dance - a rave at an abandoned warehouse, a friend's basement, a licensed club - no matter what the law says.

After law, clubs disappeared

In the mid-1980s, teens flocked to Club Broadway, Oz, Gorilla Gardens, Skoochies and The Monastery.

"The culture was one thing: dancing," said Angel Combs, 34, a member of JAMPAC, the Joint Artists and Music Promotions Political Action Committee.

Those clubs closed, one by one, after the council passed the dance ordinance. It keeps people over 20 - and, by extension, alcohol - out of teen dances, and requires that teens under 15 be accompanied by a parent or guardian.

While the law didn't make it illegal to stage a dance for minors, it made it confusing, cumbersome and costly.

"The (ordinance) . . . has annihilated the dance scene," Combs said.

Concerts aren't covered by the ordinance. Dances are.

But police and promoters clash about what that means:

Combs, the art and music promoter: "A dance is like a club scene, with electronic music, not a live performance."

Seattle Police Capt. Jim Pugel, who sat on the city task force: "At a concert, tickets are sold, and for every ticket, there's a seat to sit in."

David Whitson, a music promoter and task-force member: "A dance is being interactive with the audience. Concerts are less interactive, like a movie, where people aren't trying to meet each other."

The confusion over the ordinance made it a threat to concerts as well. For example, police shut down a Mudhoney rock concert in 1994 because people were dancing, said Dave Meinert, a local band manager and music promoter.

Enforcement has become more confused as forms of music such as hip-hop, use turntables as an instrument and turn DJs into performers, further blurring the line between dances and concerts.

A question of security

The ordinance requires that at least 25 percent of the security staff at a teen dance be sworn off- duty police officers. Off-duty officers make at least $24 an hour for a minimum of 4 hours. Independent security guards can be hired for $8 to $10 an hour.

Promoters complain that police have used the security requirement to close dances by default, either by refusing to work certain shows or by failing to show up after they were hired.

"It happens more often than not," said Lori LeFavor, owner of the former RKCNDY who now runs Infinite Productions, which books musical acts.

Some promoters claim that the security requirements have a racial undertone. For example, if police want to block hip-hop dances, which typically draw minorities, they can simply refuse to provide security.

Police Capt. Pugel said he doesn't know what choices individual officers make about off-duty work, but he dismissed claims that police have targeted hip-hop clubs.

The all-ages ordinance that Schell vetoed would allow promoters to stage a show with private security guards.

Promoters complain most loudly about the insurance requirements of the current law.

Even if a music group or a building owner carries insurance, the promoter is required to carry a $1 million policy - expensive and difficult to get, especially for small promoters. It can cost as much as $1,000 to insure a one-night show, LeFavor said.

"It's had a chilling effect," she said. "I'm going to be 31 soon. I've been putting on shows for 14 years, and there's no one coming up behind me. Just a huge void."

Schell's proposal

When Schell vetoed the all-ages ordinance, he offered a compromise: a Youth Dance Ordinance that would allow minors to mingle with adults but would bar teens under 15 unless they are escorted by parents.

"The council version had no minimum age, and that would permit children into licensed premises, dancing with adults who were drinking," said Schell spokesman Dick Lilly. "We would not allow anything to happen that would allow a Monastery-like situation."

Opponents of the existing law say the city can't replace parents.

"You have intergenerational events happening all the time at Safeco Field, at Bumbershoot," said Combs, the art and music promoter. "People get so worried about the lights going down."

Jeremy Konick's father, Leland Seese Jr., prays each time his son goes to a show.

"My wife and I set pretty close parameters about picking him up and dropping him off," said Seese, a pastor at Mount Baker Park Presbyterian Church. "I know there's a risk - you have to be clear- eyed about that.

"But the main thing is, I want my son just to be able to . . . enjoy something he's really fond of."

City Councilman Richard Conlin and other supporters of an all-ages ordinance say alcohol is used as a scare tactic to maintain the status quo.

Clubs that serve alcohol must adhere to State Liquor Control Board rules. For example, alcohol is confined to a restricted area, and bouncers check IDs.

"If anything happens, the club owner will lose everything," Combs said. "They're not cavalier about it."

But Pugel, the Seattle police captain, said existing laws that cover alcohol, drugs and sexual contact are reactive, coming into play only after a crime has been committed.

By then, he said, it's too late.

"What if we don't have responsible parents?" said Pugel, the only member of the task force to oppose an all-ages ordinance. "We still have a victim. We have contributed to the delinquency of a minor. We have a higher duty to protect youthful innocence."

------The teen-dance ordinance debate

Three variations of a teen-dance ordinance are being debated by the Seattle City Council. Here are summaries of their main differences.

Teen Dance Ordinance

This law regulating public dances involving minors has been in effect since 1985.

- Applies to public dances with more than 150 people.

- Public dances involving minors restricted to ages 15-20. Under 15 admitted with parent. I.D. required.

- A minimum of two sworn off-duty police officers as security; at least one fourth of the security staff must be sworn law officers.

- No background checks explicitly mandated for organizers of the dance.

- Dances must end by 2 a.m.

- A re-admission fee of at least half the original admission is required (meant to discourage drinking and drug activity outside.)

- Minimum $1 million insurance policy required.

- The city of Seattle, nonprofit organizations and educational institutions are exempt from the ordinance.

- A public dance is defined as any dance readily accessible to the public. A teen dance is defined as any public dance that permits entry of people under 18.

All Ages Dance Ordinance

This law, proposed by Music and Youth Task Force Committee, was passed by the City Council Aug. 21 and vetoed two days later by Paul Schell.

- Applies to public dances with more than 250 people.

- All ages allowed. No I.D.s required.

- At least two security personnel are required for the first 250 people, and another for every additional 100 people. Private security guards allowed.

- Criminal background check required for applicants for a dance license (usually a music promoter).

- No end time specified.

- No re-admission fee.

- The city is indemnified, or relieved of liability. Additional coverage for promoters not specified.

- Educational institutions are exempt.

- A concert is defined as "any event at which live music is played or sung, and at which the primary purpose of the person conducting or operating the event is for patrons to view a musical performance." A dance is defined as "any event at which the primary purpose of the person conducting or operating the event is for patrons to dance as that term is commonly defined." Youth Dance Ordinance

Mayor Paul Schell's proposed compromise.

- Applies to dances with more than 150 people.

- No one under 15 admitted without a parent. I.D. required. No upper age limit.

- Security must include at least two off-duty law officers for the first 150 people, and another security guard for every additional 100 people.

- Criminal background checks required for both license applicant and on-site manager.

- People under 18 must leave by 2 a.m.

- A re-admission fee, equal to half the admission fee, is required.

- Minimum $1 million insurance policy required.

- The city of Seattle, nonprofit organizations and educational institutions are exempt.

- Defines dance and concert the same as the All Ages Dance Ordinance.

Credit:

The Seattle Times

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