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a lot more to it than that, including the Downtown Specific Plan District and the <br />Downtown Revitalization District. He added that there are certain references in the <br />document that talk about this specific plan area and revitalization area, and without a <br />map, it might be difficult to know really what is being talked about. <br />Mr. Hosterman pointed out that another item PDA changed is the dBA level from 60 to <br />70. He noted that the current level is 70 dBA, and the Task Force's recommendation <br />reduced it to 60 dBA. He stated that PDA thinks it is appropriate to take it back to <br />where it was before. <br />Mr. Hosterman encouraged the Commission to adopt the Task Force's <br />recommendations in the Guidelines with the changes proposed by the PDA and EVC <br />and PDA. He stated that he thinks it will make the Downtown a better and more active <br />place with more things to do. He noted that some restaurants have already started this, <br />such as Lokanta, which has a happy hour from 9:30 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. <br />Commissioner Pearce inquired, just from a process perspective, if the PDA evaluation <br />stemmed from the fact that the two PDA representatives on the Task Force voted <br />against the Task Force recommendation. <br />Mr. Hosterman clarified that the two PDA representatives voted in favor of the Task <br />Force recommendation. <br />Commissioner Pearce then inquired if the PDA nevertheless decided to issue its end <br />recommendation. <br />Mr. Hosterman said yes. He explained that what the PDA came up with did not <br />substantively change the Task Force's recommendations but just clarified them. He <br />noted that most of the changes were just minor such as changing "Guidelines" to <br />"Policies." With respect to the dBA level, he stated that the PDA was concentrating <br />more on increasing it to 74 dBA without looking at what the current level was. He added <br />that the 60 dBA was the level at certain times of the day. <br />Scott Raty, Pleasanton Chamber of Commerce, stated that with respect to the decibel <br />levels, he believed there was some confusion even within the Task Force as to whether <br />the new standard would be lowered to 60 dBA from the current standard of 70 dBA. He <br />indicated that in truth, the real problem he has with the Task Force report is that it needs <br />a warning label on it that says, "Caution: delving too deeply into the minutia of decibel <br />ratings will cause dizziness and confusion." He noted that a lot of time was spent on <br />this by a lot of hard - working and conscientious people who did a great job of getting into <br />the detail, and over time, some Task Force members may express some of that <br />confusion as to whether that final number was 60 dBA or 70 dBA. He stated that the <br />current standard is 70 dBA and that it was his understanding that nobody involved from <br />the PDA ever wanted to see that standard lowered from 70 dBA to 60 dBA and that it <br />was their understanding that it would not be. <br />PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES, September 12, 2012 Page 16 of 35 <br />