Town Not Alone in Regulation Debate

Both the University of Kansas and Salisbury University in Maryland are dealing with restrictions on the number of unrelated residents allowed to live in houses around campus.

The Chapel Hill Town Council is considering a plan that would allow no more than two unrelated people per dwelling unit, limit parking to two cars and ban duplexes within town limits.

The plan is part of a third draft of the land-use development ordinance that will be revised again Oct. 21, said Council member Mark Kleinschmidt.

In Salisbury, Md., where Salisbury University is located, the City Council voted Sep. 23 to extend a moratorium on the conversion of single-family housing into rental properties, said William Holland, director of the Salisbury Department of Building, Housing and Zoning.

The hiatus, which will last until Dec. 9, gives local officials time to decide how to maintain a family community without squelching off-campus housing that is both affordable for students and profitable for landlords, Holland said.

But he said the shift is already evident in neighborhoods immediately surrounding the university.

"An older couple would put their house up for sale ... and investors would swoop in there and buy the houses to rent them to college students," he said.

Holland said he is frustrated that the council has yet to remedy the situation.

Kathleen Groutt, director of housing and residence life at Salisbury, said the school has about 1,700 on-campus rooms to house undergraduates and an extra 576 spaces available through a partnership with local private developers. Together, this provides housing for about one-third of its undergraduates, she said.

Groutt said communication with city officials could provide a solution. "Pressure will be relieved through providing students with other options."

The University of Kansas in Lawrence has housing for about 5,000 students -- about 20 percent of students, said Diana Robertson, the university's associate director of student housing.

A city ordinance went into effect in the summer of 2001 to halt what Vice Mayor David Dunfield called the "potential for erosion of neighborhood character."

The ordinance changed the maximum number of unrelated residents allowed in a house from four to three. It also required landlords to register homes they rent out in areas zoned for single-family homes.

Sue Hack, the mayor of Lawrence and owner of nine rental homes, said part of the problem lies in having to inspect rental homes once every three years. "Officials are not going door-to-door to count heads," she said. "They are relying on landlords to comply."

The State & National Editor can be reached at stntdesk@unc.edu.