. >> if i may, i'm ben devries. i'm here to represent thethere s within a block of the parking garage. i need to speak to the fact that our viability as businesses in this community, where restaurants have flourished, in this economy coming in this day and age, challenges without that parking, without the hourly access to the parking. when it shut down for about six weeks two augusts ago, business dropped 25%. that is a sustained drop. we are talking probably 20 people being laid off. we are talking most of us going out of business. the hourly public parking is paramount to our survival and a thriving of the business community with and that two- block radius. it has developed a beautiful culture of restaurants and small businesses. all of them are independently owned and operated. i came running from the kitchen. i have been there since 8:00 this morning. we are living in a small, tight community that has no other public parking access. rosas lot we have is four blocks away down two steep hills. we see drops in busi