Anthony Barilla sued the city of Houston to fight the its busking ordinance, and he won. A federal judge ruled in December the law was unconstitutional. On Wednesday, the city formally dropped the ordinance from its code.
Melissa Phillip, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographerHouston formally abandoned an ordinance Wednesday that banned buskers throughout most of the city, four months after it was struck down by a federal judge .
For decades, Houston made busking — musicians and other artists performing on streets for cash tips — illegal throughout most of the city. In 1991, it confined the performances only to the Theater District and required interested performers to obtain a permit.
BACKGROUND: Busking for tips now legal in Houston after federal judge strikes down ordinance
Federal Judge Alfred H. Bennett declared that legal framework unconstitutional in December, ruling the ordinances violated the First Amendment.
Instead of appealing the ruling, City Council voted unanimously Wednesday to drop those portions of its code . The council passed the repeal measure as part of its consent agenda, meaning it was not considered individually.
The request for council action said Houston Public Works would receive "at most" one permit application a year.
Anthony Barilla, an accordionist and longtime Houston resident, filed the lawsuit in 2020. He applied for and got a permit to perform in the Theater District, but he soon realized it was not a lucrative spot to play.
The city argued the law was necessary to protect potential crowds of pedestrians gathered around a performer, who may spill into roads and into harm's way, and to protect residents from unwanted noise. Bennett rejected those arguments, saying the city had no significant interest in passing the busking ordinance, and the permitting ordinance was not narrowly tailored.
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"As it stands, the permit ordinances, together with the busking ordinance, would allow a large group to perform on a sidewalk without a permit as long as the group does not solicit tips, but a single performer seeking tips must have a permit," Bennett wrote. "Presumably, the larger group will interfere with traffic and pedestrian safety more than one performer."
dylan.mcguinness@houstonchronicle.com
