The conflict between the city of Pasadena and resident Jan Stephen, who was ordered to stop holding concerts at his home, has been resolved.
Pasadena Mayor Darren Gardner told CBC News on Friday that concerts can resume as long as it is clear they are not being held as part of a business operation.
“The city has nothing to do with what goes on in anyone’s home. And everyone knows that Newfoundlands have had music in their homes for well over 100 years, I’m sure of it,” Gardner said.
“But if you take this private home and turn it into a venue and invite the public in and charge in the case of some of his ads, well, that’s a public space.”
Pasadena resident Jan Stephen had invited people to his recreation space called Vinyl Garage for live shows and charged them a fee. The city said after receiving several complaints about the concerts, it ordered Stephen to shut down and desist from the event because he was running an unlicensed concert venue without a permit.
Stephen clarified that the concerts at his home do not generate revenue for him as the host, only for the artists.
Gardner said that while it was unfortunate that the matter had become a public dispute, he was happy to offer clarification.
“There seems to be some kind of obfuscation or ambiguity as to why we’re involved,” Gardner said.
“As local government we have a responsibility, if you invite the public into your space as a venue then we have a responsibility to ensure that venue is properly zoned. That fire, life and safety concerns are met, capacity cards are issued and so on.”
Stephen agrees that the conflict over perception of the rec space concerts has arisen, both from the city and from some people within the community.
“The city really had a problem with me inviting people to my house in public and how I did it on the internet and some of the languages I use,” Stephen said. “It gave the impression that I had a business from home.”
“So I just have to market it differently and try to keep it a little bit more internal.”
While the way he will ensure people come to his house for live music will change slightly, Stephen said he will continue to host people and share videos and pictures of the concerts online.
Stephen said that although a meeting should have taken place before the order was issued, he was glad the city had made efforts to resolve the conflict.
“I want to be in tune with my city and have a good relationship with my city,” he said.
“I will continue. There will be live music at my house. There will be happiness and friends spending time together, it just won’t seem like a business.”
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