Noise zoning compromise
Bob Livesay’s June 27 letter touches on a reasonable disagreement with a City Council decision, if you exclude the uncalled for ranting about the characterizations of the mayor and one of the councilmembers.
It is an age old problem of conflicts in views of acceptable behavior in the zoning of mixed use areas.
Noise restriction zoning is pretty straightforward and not too controversial in housing areas or industrial zones, but it gets a little dicey when you have mix area zoning of housing and commercial property. These areas are made for conflicting goals.
I dare you to propose that neighborhood parks, like the community park by Matthew Turner Elementary, allow amplified music from 10 to 11 p.m. See how the residents feel about it.
Yes, Bob, the restaurants and bars would probably have an increase in business if loud music at outdoor venues could go on into the night, but at the same time causing people with residence in the area a greatly reduced quality of life.
Adjudicating this problem requires the wisdom of Solomon. Well, the City Council might not be Solomon, but they tried to placate both sides with what seemed like a reasonable compromise.
Having lived in Benicia for only five years, I find it a pretty nice place to live. Not perfect, but what is?
If it has not been done before or at least not for awhile, the businesses should get together to draw up a list of what they think can be improved to increase their business and patrons’ experience and then meet with the City Council and see what is possible.
Not sure what will happen, but it’s best to approach it not as antagonists but as people who want the same goal: a better and more prosperous Benicia.
Ken Vail,
Benicia
A mistake I made
I made a mistake at work the other day. I tagged a guitar for sale when it was a repair instrument owned by a customer. A woman came in and saw her guitar on the wall for sale and was extremely angry. She contacted me at my other store and, without giving me even a chance to explain, lit into me accusing me of being horribly irresponsible, exhibiting bad business practices and a slew of other below margin business ethics. As her tirade grew, she introduced the ‘F’ word. At that point, I knew I’d lost any ability to claw my way into the conversation and, wanting to end her rant, I said, “So you’ve introduced the ‘F’ word into the conversation, did you graduate from high school?” I’m told by my employees that she threw the telephone at the wall, grabbed her guitar and ran out of the store. Mission accomplished.
I will not be sworn at or demeaned or subjected to cruel comments or accusations. I am a decent human being who is proactive in his community, but like all humans I frequently make mistakes. Had the same thing happened with a calm and reasonable customer, I would have without hesitation comped her the entire repair bill. What troubles me most is that this person came in with an attitude of nothing more than wanting to “win.” Win what? She told me that, at the very least, she expected to be compensated for the cost associated with the repair, in other words, pay nothing and thereby financially “punish” me for my mistake which in fact had caused her no harm or loss. I tried to explain to her that it was my mistake, but she was more interested in making her multiple points regarding how poorly I ran my business. She kept insisting that she shouldn’t have to pay for the repair because I “F’d” up.
Winning at any price seems to be a mantra that is escalating throughout our culture. Issues be damned, it’s the win that counts. And the sidebar is that winning by lies, slander or fake news is perfectly justified.
I read a few days ago that the owner of a restaurant/bar in the downtown wanted to expand their outside live amplified music past our city’s time restrictions. Fair enough, but at the end of the city council meeting, the restaurant’s owner couldn’t resist demeaning a nearby homeowner who opposed the restaurant’s request. Shame on you. What right do you have in speaking negatively about anybody?
And I’m about done reading and re-reading letters to our editor published in our town newspaper about how our mayor and her “friend” on the City Council do such a pathetically low level job. That constant barrage comes from principally one writer week after week after week. Is there a “win” around the corner?
Stan Houston,
Benicia
Sharing is caring!
I have watched the Mayor for over eight years and she is very agenda driven by her own personal ideals. I will continue to describe that as long as she continues to use that behavior toward her other councilmembers and the local residents. My advice is to watch her behavior on Benicia TV. You may then change your mind. As far as the other councilperson goes just follow that persons actions. Do you think I am the only one that sees that persons actions. NO. We have had three very fine city employees that have left for greener pastures and a very fine work culture. There is a reason they left. You may want to look into that.
There was no compromise. The owner asked for extended hours and he got a reduced sound rate. He can very easily go back to the same hours as before and the 80 not 70 sound that the council wanted. Again no compromise just punishment to a very fine business owner.
Stan I am like you a very decent person and pro-active about the City of Benicia. Ask any city employee. I think you will find that I get high marks. I see it I write about it. I do not expect everyone to agree. I also do not mind negative comments about what I write. But if I do not write about what I see who will. Try no one.
The comment about amplified music in parks is not even worth mentioning. I would like to address a couple of issues on music downtown. I have been to Lucca’s three or four times to listen to bands playing and guess what? The place is filled with people from every age group, young, old, middle, and even families. And each and every person their is having a great time. Quite a bit has been made of amplified vs non amplified music. This argument makes absolutely no sense. A decibel is a decibel, amplified or not meaning 70 db of amplified music is the same as 70 db of non amplified music. Now as to the new limit of 70 db, where is it going to be measured? Sound dissipates over distance. So, 70 db measure at the stage of the bands playing is quite different than 70 db at a home 50, 75 or 100 feet away. For instance, if you stand 10 feet from a sound source and experience a 90 dB reading, at 20 feet you would experience an 84 dB reading in the absence of echo. So I go back to my question, where are the db readings to be taken?
One final point is that Benicia pushes for a vibrant downtown. They have tried numerous things over the years to bring people downtown and the Lucca Beer Garden has done that. Quite well in my opinion.
Agree with everything you state. You can have 150 dB at stage and 50 dB outside the garden …. and who cares?
Lucca’s Beer Garden is exactly he type of place First Street needs. It is fun, energetic, clean, and family oriented.
Matter you are correct. Please explain to me and others what the problem is. It does appear the other merchants have no problem with Lucca’s. So just what is it. I do understand the noise issue. But to be more specific is it the time at night or the so called decimals. I am not sure what the residence want. As it stands now it goes back to the original hours and the 80 decimals. So just who won. It does appear that Lucca’s won. Music at the original hours along with the same decimals. So the thing I would ask the residence is: is this OK with you. Or do you want to shut down Lucca’s out door venue., Will the residence accept it as it has always been? Maybe.
To have a vibrant and successful downtown Benicia needs to attract shopping traffic and tourism. We celebrate our artists …. painters, glass blowers, dance …. who not local music?
If Benicia is to be an art and cultural center, let’s celebrate our talent and have fun that matches our town’s beauty?
Let’s have music played on First Street until 10 or 11 PM on weekends, 9 pm on week nights. Why is that unreasonable?
Ask the Mayor and Councilmember Steve Young.