A town very near where I live is trying to bring some entertainment to downtown. They're inviting busking acts to come to downtown to entertain the shoppers and diners. For anyone interested the website is http://bristolorbusk.com/
It's interesting to see how they try to control the performances. Limited duration, limited number of performances per month, and the use of a city-supplied box rather than a hat.
Bristol is outside my area but even if it were not I would find such provisions onerous.
Some regulation is normal on most North American pitches, whether it's hours, format, license, whatever. If the pitch is good, the acts will come anyway, if the pitch sucks, it won't be worth it.
You might also post this to Performers.net, where a lot of acts get pitch information.