The discussion of proposed permits for new bed-and-breakfast operations is sure to be loud and boisterous, filled with calls for more or fewer regulations — and for the city to scrap the entire idea.

But as a starting point for the discussion, the idea of a fairly restrictive conditional use permit for these residential accommodations is rational. There's a demand for alternative visitor accommodations, and bed-and-breakfasts under the proposed plan would require an on-site operator who could be held accountable for neighborhood disturbances.

The current proposal provides residents with a voice in the permitting decision. This gives bed-and-breakfast owners the proper incentive to establish trust with the neighbors from the get-go.

Some of the proprietors contend that the suggested limits on the number of rooms to be rented is too strict. They will have a chance in the hearings to demonstrate why a three-bedroom limit is more reasonable than two. If the limit is slightly higher, owners still should be responsible for providing appropriate off-street parking for all their guests.

The proposal also requires that advertising for bed-and-breakfast and transient vacation units must include permit numbers and street addresses. Some might balk at this because prospective guests could turn up seeking a room without calling ahead.

But anyone running a bed-and-breakfast has to sacrifice some measure of privacy as the price of doing business. These are still businesses operating in residential neighborhoods on a conditional basis, and they need to be accountable to the community.

The challenge will be for the city to make sure newly permitted rentals are actual bed-and-breakfast homes, with the operator in residence. The city would need to lay out the protocol for reporting an "absentee landlord" during the hearing process.

This might be more difficult than it appears at first. Neighbors often complain that guests in a transient vacation unit are hard to track and that proving they are renting for less than the allowable 30-day lease is problematic. That's why the city made failure to disclose permit numbers in advertising a reportable offense: It's easier to police.

Lifting the ban on bed-and-breakfast homes ideally could ease some of the pent-up demand for alternative accommodations. Now the city has to show the ability to keep it within acceptable bounds.