City Council Minutes 2017 09 05 - Laserfiche WebLink

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City Council Meeting Minutes September 5, 2017 Page 13 of 18 Andrew Muller, 3808 St. Vincent Place, Boulder, noted in 2007 he started buying property in downtown, no one was here, rents were low and it felt like a ghost town. Since then downtown has become a vibrant and exciting community, great impact on tax revenue, attracts other great businesses Small business people who are neighbors can solve this problem by agreeing to talk it out Louisville is no longer the only cute downtown, what we have is vibrant but also fragile. Patrick Walsh, 1315 Lambert Circle, Lafayette, Bittersweet owner, has two businesses that offer live music, Bittersweet and Por. He went through an extensive Special Review Use process to develop those properties. The Special Review Use process is legitimate and this goes in the face of that There are mechanisms in place to alleviate concerns about noise A number of the complaints are from Street Faire, and he has been told those were dealt with in a different way. If that is the case address Street Faire, not impact other businesses. Live music venues have been well received and are not the same as other types of noise Council Comments Councilmember Leh noted the initial meetings on this issue were noticed. He stated he is not in favor of changing the current approach He received a lot of emails about this ordinance, both for and against Overwhelmingly the comments are against the ordinance The PD policy is very much in keeping with the dispute solution policy this kind of a problem demands. There are unintended consequences of over regulation; this adversely affects many business practices The value of music needs to be protected. This solution leaves it up to a noise meter not a person; we should leave it to the discretion of the police department. Councilmember Stolzmann stated she has had a lot of complaints over the last few years either from special events or live music She noted many people don't want to call the police for any reason The proposed ordinance needs different decibel levels and more distances, more finesse and specificity is needed. Ways to improve this ordinance to create something that walks the fine line of a lively active downtown and neighborhood peace. She would rather not have a complaint driven approach, but have something enforceable by the police department without a complaint or two that the prosecutor might want. There needs to be a compromise so neighbors can enjoy peace without being too restrictive. She noted the Council will likely continue to discuss this and there needs to be some kind of govemance that is a compromise. Councilmember Keany took pause that the prosecutor won't prosecute without two complaints. This may not be the right solution, but something is needed. The numbers suggested are simply too low There is a need to be more proactive. He hoped businesses are cooperative with officers; take a walk away from your business and see if you can hear it. We already have some businesses that should be turning down the music. There is a need to be more proactive than reactive to complaints. Business owners need to be more responsive to neighbors.