The ordinance, said city attorney Kirsten Powell, is designed to mitigate the traffic impacts of special events on the streets and neighborhoods in Monte Sereno. Special events include happenings such as carnivals, parades, holiday displays, extended weddings and celebrations. The ordinance would also require a permit to be filed with the city manager at least 30 days before the special event.

Le Nguyen, a Monte Sereno resident who lives on the Danielle Place cul-de-sac, spoke in favor of the ordinance. He presented council members with a report of traffic problems he documented that occurred during the 2002 holiday season as a result of holiday lights displays put up by his neighbor, Alan Aerts, who also lives on Danielle Place.

Aerts is known for his animated holiday lights displays, which Nguyen called a "crazy party" for 43 nights before Christmas that includes about 23,000 cars filled with visitors who drive by the house to see the display.

"It's about every car in Monte Sereno going through a cul-de-sac every single night," Nguyen said.

Monte Sereno resident Barbara Allen spoke against the ordinance.

"I sympathize with the people on Danielle Place, but I think it's wrong for the city council to get involved with this type of discussion that really started with two neighbors," Allen said.

Monte Sereno resident Joseph Padgett said the ordinance restricts Aerts' expression of religious freedom.

"This man has brought a lot of joy to a lot of people," Padgett said. He added that the holiday display has never resulted in traffic accidents, endangerment of children's safety, crimes or fights.

Garner emphasized that it's not the business of the council to step in and mediate a controversy between the two neighbors.

"[The Nguyens] clearly don't like this activity happening in their cul-de-sac and Alan Aerts clearly does," Garner said. "It is a dispute between them."

The ordinance has become too long and cumbersome and is specifically designed to restrict Alan Aerts and his holiday display, Garner said. Councilman Curtis Wright didn't agree that the ordinance is about an issue between neighbors or about Alan Aerts at all.

"This ordinance says nothing about religious decorations," Wright said. "This is about something that is blocking city streets."

Councilman Mark Brodsky said it seems that not everyone in the Monte Sereno community feels obligated to be brief when disrupting the peace and quiet of their neighbors. He added that the ordinance defines the limits and scope of special events as to what is neighborly behavior for those who have forgotten or never learned.

The ordinance will come back to the council's Nov. 18 meeting for a second reading.

Padgett also spoke to council members during the public-comment portion of the meeting. He said he hasn't been granted access to the addresses and phone numbers of elected officials of the city of Monte Sereno, which he should have access to under the California Public Records Act.

Dick King, a representative from the Los Gatos High School Theater Improvement Project campaign, urged the city of Monte Sereno to financially support and participate in the campaign through upcoming fundraisers.

Los Gatos­Monte Sereno Police Department Chief Scott Seaman provided the council with a quarterly service update for July, August and September, as well as the rest of the year.

There were a total of 828 calls for service in Monte Sereno, resulting in 42 reports requiring further documentation. The police department has a 4.8-minute average response time to priority one or the most serious type of calls, which Seaman said is slightly under the target time of five minutes.

There have been seven vandalisms, with the most common instances being egg throwing and broken windows, as well as eight traffic accidents, including one hit and run and two driving under the influence of alcohol citations. The most frequent location of such accidents is Highway 9, which runs through Monte Sereno.

The four areas of concentration that the police department has pinpointed where incidents occur include the La Rinconada area, Daves Avenue/Winchester Boulevard area, Los Gatos­Saratoga Road/Rose Avenue area and Greenwood Avenue. The police department also has given out 109 traffic enforcement citations this year, with 21 falling within the quarter. Seaman said this number is slightly lower than it has been in the past.