• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

University Neighborhood: Too Many Renters or Too Many Parties?

Posted on: Tuesday, 25 October 2005, 21:01 CDT

By Tu-Uyen Tran, Grand Forks Herald, N.D.

Oct. 25--A controversial set of laws designed to curb the loud partying and chaotic parking in Grand Forks' university district is back in committee today for a little revision.

UND students say they oppose a provision that would reduce the number of unrelated tenants allowed in a rental unit because that would mean fewer housemates would be allowed to share the cost of rent.

City Council member Gerald Hamerlik said dropping legal tenants down to three would reduce the profit for would-be landlords, thereby reducing the number of family homes bought and converted into rental units, he said.

Council member Doug Christensen said he probably would support the provision but he figures that if the problem is loud partying, the city should beef up enforcement and increase fines.

The proposed laws are the culmination of more than a year of work by a council committee that included residents, landlords and students.

Chris Braden, the UND student government's governmental affairs commissioner, said "students are the people that have the most to lose from this." That's because they have a limited income, he said.

Hamerlik said he doesn't agree with that argument. Students can live on campus for less but choose not to, he said, because of restrictions on parties and drinking.

Christensen objects to the licensing because it's cumbersome. His solution to just bust loud parties, he said, is simpler, and he'd like to give that a try before starting the licensing.

Under that plan, landlords would have to pay a fee, give their names and phone numbers and turn over the names and numbers of all their tenants. If there are too many complaints about their tenants, the landlord could lose his license.

Kim Novak, a resident who was on the council committee, said enforcement can get pretty tricky. "We've called many times on (a neighboring) property and (police) come and say there's nothing there. There's no evidence. Obviously, we're not dreaming this stuff."

One potential problem, which Christensen has pointed out, is how the city can "count beds."

Swanson, the city attorney, wrote a clause allowing inspectors into a tenant's home at "any reasonable hour," which he said is not unusual for a licensed facility. Police do that to bars all the time, he said, because the bars are licensed.

Still, Hamerlik said there might be some problems with the proposed law as it is written. "If you're talking about imposing on civil rights, you might have some point," he said. "Maybe ought to be a word -- 'there's reason to believe that there's a safety problem,' " he said. "That may need to be in there."

-----

To see more of the Grand Forks Herald, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.grandforks.com.

Copyright (c) 2005, Grand Forks Herald, N.D.

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

For information on republishing this content, contact us at (800) 661-2511 (U.S.), (213) 237-4914 (worldwide), fax (213) 237-6515, or e-mail reprints@krtinfo.com.

Source: Grand Forks Herald (Grand Forks, N.D.)

More News in this Category