From Staff Reports

Asheville City Council on Oct. 25 unanimously approved new limits on outdoor performances in a downtown area that is known for its lively arts scene.

The action followed two years of conflict between street musicians and city officials

The new rules, negotiated by performers and officials, will affect a wide array of people who work for fun or a living on the street, including horn players, statue impersonators and boisterous old-time string bands.

The rules are unique in that they straddle the line between pedestrian safety and arts and music, according to Andrew Fletcher of the Asheville Busker’s Collective, which helped develop the new limits.

The new rules regulate two popular areas for performances — the Flat Iron sculpture at the intersection of Wall Street and Battery Park Avenue and the Haywood Street sidewalk in front of Woolworth Walk art gallery.

Icons indicating musical performance sites will be installed and no other audible performance within 120 feet of them will be allowed. Non-audible performances will be allowed 40 feet away. A 6-foot pathway has to be kept clear for pedestrians. The rules eliminate at least one other popular performance spot on the other corner of Wall Street.

Violators would be subject to a fine of up to $50, not including court costs, Assistant City Attorney John Maddux noted. A sentence of jail time would be highly unusual, but that would be “up to a judge,” according to Maddux.