>>Are you referring to the hip hop generation/gangsta attitude prevelent among certain segments of society? Or, are you questioning the single-parent, welfare lifestyle that seems to be creating a generation that's never been taught what respect, of themselves and of others, entails?<<

I am referring to neither of these. I meant the attitude of people who do not themselves live in cities, cannot conceive of ever doing so, and wonder why anyone else would do so by choice. Steeped in pulpy images of urban violence and chaos, they conclude that people who choose to live in cities do so because they somehow enjoy that atmosphere. This attitude is precisely indicative of the extent to which cities (and what they once were in our culture) have been discarded by a certain benighted segment of the country's population.

Actually, I do live in the city (Lindenwood Park area), and the last strip mall I designed was in 2005. I do agree that residents have a right to define their neighborhoods, but also believe that both the right tools need to be used and that neighborhoods in transition / gentrifying present unique challenges when it comes to balancing new and existing uses.

As for Lure, I see two separate issues, unauthorized use of common spaces within the building and idiot patrons outside. The unauthorized use is a civil issue, not much different than illegal parking on private lots – there are remedies outside the city bureacracy. As for idiot patrons, once they're outside, they a) may or may not be from Lure, and b) Lure has no legal control over or responsibility for them – that falls on the Police.

Unfortunately, you can't have it both ways – either you allow music (or alcohol), of any and all kinds, or you allow no music (or alcohol). You can't pick and choose, either the format or the patrons – these are first ammendment and public accomodations issues. While we'd all probably be fine with middle-of-the-road, relatively mellow live entertainment, but the government can't, and shouldn't, be deciding what's PC and what's not.

So is Lure a tenant with a lease or a resident that owns their space? Either way, it sounds like the real issue is a landlord or HOA issue. A bar apparently is, has been, and will continue to be a legal use for this space. If “Lure employees are letting Lure patrons into parts of the building that do not belong to Lure. . . . And up until now Lure's owners have been completely unreceptive to working with residents to address these (or any other) issues” then this is a civil issue between the affected parties, not something where the police powers of the city should come into play. If need be, have the police arrest the appropriate people for trespassing, but a nightclub, by its very nature, will be attracting loud, obnoxious people who like to smoke into the wee hours of the morning. If the residents don't like that, then moving to Cottleville or Arnold might be the best solution.

And that is the bigger problem – rowdy patrons on Washington OUTSIDE the clubs (and their control).

“If the neighbor in the apartment next to me continually leaves food out drawing roaches and they enter my apartment whose fault is it?” Your neighbor, obviously.

“If someone leaves rotting fish in their apartment and the smell wafts into my living space who do I complain to?” Your landlord.

“If someone falls asleep with a lit cigarette starting the sprinklers and the water damages my belongings who pays?” Your renters' insurance.

“If every night there is a brawl right outside their establishment with gunfire and beatings, who's at fault?” The patrons and/or wannabe patrons who have been denied entrance.

“It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out cause and effect. Why is it all the numerous other bars on Washington don't seem to have this issue?” Because they don't attract patrons that are social misfits? Because they don't share common facilities with residential tenants? Because their residential neighbors are less sensitive to / more forgiving of youthful indiscretions and late-night carousing?

Where we seem to have a fundamental disagreement is the concept of personal responsibility. A bar can be too loud, too late, and/or can generate a range of obnoxious smells associated with the kitchen. But a bar, or any other venue, has only limited control over the actions of individual patrons. It doesn't matter if it's Lure, Riverport, the Jones Dome or any of our major universities, many events will attract a certain number of a-holes, and when you mix in alcohol, you have the makings for some truly obnoxious behavior. Do you shut down every venue that has ever had problems? Or do you raise the expectations of what are police department should be doing about individual, illegal behaviors?

You've identified the real downside to mixed-use zoning – coexistence! One reason homogeneous suburbs appeal to so many people are that there are fewer “surprises” and conflicts – if your neighbors think and act just like you, then the chances for “being on a different page” are significantly reduced. Compare that to the attitudes of the patrons of hip-hop nights versus the typical loft dweller – there's little conversation, much less any common ground. Putting the two together pretty much guarantees friction . . .