MATT DRISCOLL: QUATRO DOS EQUIS >>>

Yesterday we had our Weekly Volcano news editorial meeting, and Pappi Swarner had an ingenious idea. What makes a bimonthly editorial meeting better? Booze, that’s what. So we headed to Masa to talk shop and get our drink on.

At some point during the get together â€" which may have set a world record for lengthiest editorial meetings of all time â€" Masa owner John Xitco stopped by our booth to promote some of his newest menu items (no surprise there) and talk about his restaurant’s Cinco de Mayo festivities coming up on Saturday and Monday, which will include a live band performing outside.

While exactly who will perform during Masa’s Cinco de Mayo parties is still a bit of a mystery (the promotional flyer says “secret special guest band”), one thing isn’t. Whoever plays will need to keep it below 85 decibels at Masa’s property line or Xitco’s wallet may become a bit lighter.

That’s because Masa is the very first club to apply for and receive a special events permit under Tacoma’s new noise ordinance. When Tacoma enacted its new noise ordinance on April 2, members of the City Council and others who worked toward the creation of the ordinance realized that special events would arise that would require special consideration and rules.  Cinco de Mayo at Masa is just such a situation.

Tacoma has aimed to create rules for special events noise permits similar those in Austin, Texas â€" widely regarded as the live music capital of the world. A threshold of 85 decibels has been established as the maximum allowed at the property line of a business. After taking decibel readings near Masa, Tacoma noise officials determined that music measuring 85 decibels at the restaurant's property line decreased by nearly 20 decibels across the street from the club â€" to around 65 decibels, or just about ambient.

“85 decibels seems like a good number,” says John Harrington, Land Use administrator with Public Works, Building and Land Use Services Department, who worked with other city officials to create the guidelines and application process for special events noise permits and variances.

Unlike the regular noise ordinance, Masa’s compliance with the special events permit will not simply be based on whether a neighbor complains or not. Building and Land Use Services will be monitoring Masa on Saturday to make sure they stay below 85 decibels at the property line. If there are no problems they may stay home for Monday’s event, but if there are Xitco can expect to see them on both nights.

“The key is figuring out if there’s a problem on Saturday and fixing it,” says Harrington, “so we don’t have problems again on Monday.”

Yesterday at Masa, Xitco didn’t sound so hopeful.

“I told them to bring their ticket books,” he said, driving home the point that he opened Masa on Sixth Avenue because it’s an entertainment and mixed use area zoned so he can do business until 2 a.m.

Xitco expects to have difficulty staying under the 85 decibel limit this weekend, but feels like he’s done all he can to work together with the city. For Harrington’s part, he was also thankful for Masa’s cooperation.

“We really appreciate them working with us on this,” says Harrington.

If Masa is found to be too loud on Saturday or Monday night, the club will be subject to similar fines as outlined in Tacoma’s noise ordinance, which dictates a $250 fine be levied against first time offenders. Also, according to the wording of Masa’s special events permit, the music must be done by 10 p.m., and someone from the club must be on hand at all times to handle a noise situation should one arise.

For the sake of Masa, Xitco, and Cinco de Mayo in Tacoma, let’s hope a noise situation doesn’t arise.

Although with a limit of 85 decibels at the property line, that may be hard to do.