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Councilmember Thorne asked and Ms. Ott confirmed that under the staff recommendation, a business <br /> within the core zone could generate as much as 80 decibels and still achieve 60 decibels at the <br /> residential line. Ms. Ott noted that this would however exceed the 74 decibels allowed. <br /> Mayor Hosterman said also received many emails and phone calls from those concerned with <br /> maintaining the central core area as recommended by the Task Force. She said she would support that <br /> recommendation, as opposed to staffs, and that she would prefer not to apply the more lax <br /> requirements for Friday and Saturday to Thursday. <br /> Councilmember Sullivan said he served on the Task Force and found it to be a very lopsided committee <br /> that was heavily skewed towards business interests. He stressed the work that Mr. Fialho and staff did <br /> in crafting a compromise that balances the needs of businesses and residents. The transition area was <br /> a significant component of that compromise and at one point, there was general agreement by the Task <br /> Force to support the changes. The very next meeting, staff's hard work was overturned in what was a <br /> very controversial backtracking on a compromise that took a long time to come to. He noted that both <br /> Councilmembers and one Planning Commissioner voted against the EVC and PDA recommendation in <br /> favor of the staff recommendation, which he continues to support. He felt that approving the guidelines <br /> as recommended by the EVC and PDA would be akin to stabbing residents in the back and not at all <br /> representative of what the outcome of this 12-month process should be. <br /> Mayor Hosterman said the idea of the exercise is to address the guidelines in a meaningful way and <br /> that she liked what the Task Force and community had come up with. She acknowledged the <br /> compromise prepared by staff but said she would prefer to see the guidelines implemented fully before <br /> grappling with what changes might best benefit the combined interests of the community. <br /> Councilmember Cook-Kallio said she could support the expanded transition zone, provided there would <br /> be a simple process for those wishing to convert to the core zone. She reiterated her position that the <br /> expanded buffer does little to change anything for residents either in terms of noise or other impacts. <br /> Her real concern, which was not suitably addressed, is how to mitigate the behavioral nuisances that <br /> tend accompany public drunkenness. Enforcement of the guidelines relies largely on resident's <br /> complaints and the resources available to the Police Department at any given time. Nor does this <br /> address the broader issue of reduced personnel, lower budgets, and increased activity. <br /> Mayor Hosterman concurred and said the Council has had more than one discussion regarding the ill <br /> effects of a thriving downtown. At the same time, she felt it was very important to allow the community <br /> to embrace the guidelines before making any larger sweeping changes. <br /> MOTION: It was m/s by Cook-Kallio/McGovern to approve the staff recommendation with the caveat <br /> that those with businesses adjoining the core area could easily petition to be reassigned to the core <br /> area. <br /> Councilmember Thorne said he served on the Task Force, is a member of the EVC, and was one of <br /> those who voted against the Task Force's action. While he supported the EVC's recommendations, he <br /> felt they needed at least one additional meeting to reach greater consensus. He said he also had <br /> issues with the conflicting noise standards mentioned earlier, which would allow for 80 decibels at the <br /> commercial property line while still achieving 60 decibels or less at the residential property line. He said <br /> he felt it would likely be an easier process to move properties from the transition zone into the core <br /> zone than vice versa. He said he tended to favor the staff recommendation and would support the <br /> motion, but request clarification on Councilmember Cook-Kallio's definition of"easy" in this context. <br /> Councilmember Cook-Kallio said she did not wish for it to be overly cumbersome for either owners or <br /> staff. She suggested an initial period during which someone could simply petition to have a property in <br /> 14 <br />