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A street performer on E. 4th Street during an Indians game Oct. 6. Cleveland City Council is considering limiting performances to 9 p.m. on weekdays and 10 p.m. on weekends.

(Mark Bona, cleveland.com)

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Cleveland street performers could have to pack up their instruments and microphones two hours earlier on weekdays and an hour earlier on weekends if City Council approves legislation presented by Councilman Kerry McCormack.

Street performers would be allowed to perform from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, according to the ordinance. Street performances would be allowed from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. during special events, parades and festivals. Sports games are not considered one of those events.

The current schedule allows performances from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

City Council's finance committee approved the ordinance Monday, but it will not go before the full council for final passage until Oct. 17.

McCormack said he worked on the legislation with the Downtown Cleveland Alliance at the request of downtown residents who complained about noise from the street performers outside their homes.

"When there was very loud, amplified music at 11 p.m. on a Monday or Tuesday, [residents] were really being sleep deprived and it affected their work because of that," McCormack said. "There are almost 15,000 folks living downtown, and they also deserve the high quality of life we seek in our other neighborhoods."

Councilman Zack Reed raised concerns about restricting the hours so that street performers must be gone by the time many sporting events are letting out.

"The Cavs play at 8 o'clock on TBS. Twenty thousand people leave, [and street performers] just want to be able to say something to those individuals and maybe [have them] throw a dollar in their box," he said, noting Cleveland's "Sax Man," Maurice Reedus Jr., who has gained national recognition performing on the streets for more than 15 years.

"There are people who have gone on to be famous doing what we are now regulating to certain hours," Reed said.

There is no permit needed to be a street performer, according to City Council spokeswoman Joan Mazzolini. Street performers who do not comply with the ordinance could be cited under the sound-device ordinance, which carries a criminal penalty.