The parking ordinance that only allows four cars per residence in the Northside neighborhood is an unnecessary mandate that only serves to inconvenience students.
A recent lawsuit filed by two Northside landlords against the town of Chapel Hill has brought this issue to light, and rightfully so.
The growing student population in the Northside neighborhood has been met with resistance by the town, which was manifested in this ordinance. It is a major inconvenience for students in houses of more than four residents to have to figure out alternate parking situations in the town.
An ordinance like this only further complicates the already messy parking situation around campus. In addition to being fundamentally flawed, this ordinance isn’t even logically enforced.
The landlords, not the tenants, are fined for violations. It is unrealistic to expect Northside landlords to constantly police their tenants’ parking habits.
The town should spend more time on programs that encourage a community feel, such as the Good Neighbor Initiative, than on enactment and enforcement of such nitpicky ordinances.
Local resources and energy should be spent on valuable causes, and this parking ordinance does not fit that description. In order for UNC students and local residents to coexist peacefully, the Chapel Hill government must help to facilitate this relationship, not enact ordinances to hinder it.
It is disappointing to see the government of a college town seem so hostile to an important demographic of its community — the students.
