The residents at 401 Water Street want to see 4 a.m. liquor licenses go away. Their first step in that process is to force any requests for a 4 a.m. liquor license to go to the entire City Council for a vote, thus allowing residents an additional public hearing, and possibly an override of a Liquor Commission recommendation.

Currently, if a business-owner already holds a liquor license, the Liquor Commissioner (Mayor Ardis) or Deputy Liquor Commissioner (Councilman Turner) can approve a change to a subclass 1 (4 a.m.) liquor license upon recommendation from the Liquor Commission. This new proposed ordinance would require the whole City Council to approve or deny it instead.

Also speaking in favor of this plan during “Citizen Requests to Address the Council” was Sandy Fritz of the organization Citizens for Community Values. She implied that if the council continues to give out 4 a.m. liquor licenses, she may try to organize a referendum on the matter to see what Peoria residents think of the practice, and predicted that 90% would say they don’t want to see any new 4 a.m. liquor licenses approved.

My take: I hope this doesn’t get me fired at church, but I personally have no problem with the 4 a.m. liquor licenses. They’re confined to a small area of downtown, and they’ve been in place considerably longer than 401 Water has been taking tenants. It’s not like the bars all had 1 a.m. liquor licenses and then, when the residents came in, the council changed them all to 4 a.m. licenses with a stroke of the pen and an evil laugh. The residents were fully aware of the bar/liquor-license situation downtown and they chose to live there anyway.

Janice Favus, a resident of 401 Water who spoke in favor of the motion, stated that residents only want the same rights that all other Peorians have, including the right to leave her windows open on summer nights and not have a lot of noise from bars outside.

Now, in one sense, I can understand her point. If there is a major disturbance outside — crowd-control problems, fights, generally rude and obnoxious drunks leaving the bars — that’s not acceptable. But there are already laws against such behavior, and from what I’ve seen from my days playing in a band at downtown bars, those laws are enforced.

But on the other hand, with all due respect, it is totally unrealistic for Ms. Favus and her neighbors to expect downtown Peoria to be as tranquil as the suburbs at night. This isn’t beachfront property. You’re not going to hear the silted waves of the Illinois River lapping up on shore as you drift off to sleep. And nowhere did the city promise any downtown resident the right to be undisturbed if they leave their windows open at night. They’re downtown.

If we’re going to have a downtown that’s “24/7” — like the Heart of Peoria Plan calls for, and like all the consultants recommend, and like the council has been saying they want for years — that’s going to mean having places that are open late. Very late. Maybe all night. And people on the street means noise. I’m not talking about disorderly-conduct noise, but more noise than one would expect in a suburban neighborhood, or even an urban one.

When people are downtown, they’re going to be talking at normal volume, not in hushed tones. They’re going to be laughing and having a good time. Their cars are going to make noise at odd hours of the night when they come in or when they leave. There are going to be places playing music into the wee hours of the morning to attract people down there.

I’d like to call on music legend Petula Clark to give the residents of 401 Water a description of what it’s like to be “Downtown”:

When you’re alone and life is making you lonely
You can always go – downtown
When you’ve got worries, all the noise and the hurry
Seems to help, I know – downtown
Just listen to the music of the traffic in the city
Linger on the sidewalk where the neon signs are pretty
How can you lose?

The lights are much brighter there
You can forget all your troubles, forget all your cares
So go downtown, things’ll be great when you’re
Downtown – no finer place, for sure
Downtown – everything’s waiting for you

Don’t hang around and let your problems surround you
There are movie shows – downtown
Maybe you know some little places to go to
Where they never close – downtown
Just listen to the rhythm of a gentle bossa nova
You’ll be dancing with him too before the night is over
Happy again

The lights are much brighter there
You can forget all your troubles, forget all your cares
So go downtown, where all the lights are bright
Downtown – waiting for you tonight
Downtown – you’re gonna be all right now

And you may find somebody kind to help and understand you
Someone who is just like you and needs a gentle hand to
Guide them along

So maybe I’ll see you there
We can forget all our troubles, forget all our cares
So go downtown, things’ll be great when you’re
Downtown – don’t wait a minute more
Downtown – everything’s waiting for you

Noise, lights, traffic, places that never close — that’s downtown, 401 Water residents. That’s what you signed on for when you moved down there. You want to sleep with your windows open and have the robins sing you awake in the morning? Maybe downtown living isn’t for you.