Public debate continued to rage at a Student Housing Ordinances meeting at the University of St. Thomas on Oct. 16 and at the Oct. 22 City Council meeting.

At the Oct. 16th meeting, two proposals were discussed—one from council representative Jay Benanav and one from Director of Neighborhood, Housing and Property Improvement Andy Dawkins.

Benanav proposed an ordinance in February that would limit the number of dwellings housing students to one every 350 feet. However, due to political pressure, Benanav has since replaced his original proposal with one that would require a certificate of occupancy for single-family homes and duplexes. This certificate is currently only required for triplexes and apartments.

As an alternative, Dawkins proposed an ordinance that requiring registration of all rental properties, not just student housing. The proposal would give landlords two chances to fix code violations before being fined for excessive consumption of city services and up to four code violations before revocation. The Council debated the amended version at the City Council meeting.

Dawkins said that St. Paul Mayor Randy Kelly supports the rental registration plan because it attempts to deal with problem rental properties across the city, rather than targeting students.

“The mayor’s position is support for a citywide ordinance that addresses the safety of occupants in all rental houses, not just students,” Dawkins said.

Benanav, who has repeatedly stated that student housing is different from the rest of rental properties, disagreed. “I am frustrated,” he said. “I don’t think that rental registration will solve the problem of party houses and other things. There are differences between student and non-student rentals.”

Since the fire in September that killed three University of Minnesota students, Benanav has stressed the importance of safety in housing for students. “Student housing is inherently more dangerous than other rental housing. I don’t want to be the one to deal with a student housing fire that’s killed anyone,” he said.

Some Merriam Park and Macalester -Groveland residents also expressed concerns about issues unique to student housing, particularly problems associated with parking and loud parties on weekends. “Student housing is a problem. If this neighborhood becomes a student ghetto it won’t be fit for students. You’re young, you don’t know what it is to own a home,” said a longtime resident of Merriam Park.

Benanav echoed these sentiments while at the same time maintaining that he does support student interests. “It is hard to speak for residents, but their quality of life has been hampered,” he said. “They believe they’ve compromised their neighborhood to provide housing for students. What they want is balance. They are looking to welcome students, but also want respect. We’ve had three public forums—two at Macalester and one at St. Thomas. We’ve listened to students. This process has had more public input than most.”

Despite the recent forums, some students believe that Benanav and Macalester could do more. “The City Council has been keeping people informed, but I don’t think Benanav really wants student input right now,” Janna Cuneo ’04 said. “It is sort of a slap in the face because students helped him when he ran for mayor.

“It’s nice that there was a meeting on campus,” Daniel Ungier ’04 said. “But I think the school could play a greater role in keeping people informed.” No Macalester students attended the St. Thomas or City Council meetings.

At the recent City Council meeting, which was the third reading for both the rental registration plan and the certificate of occupancy plan, the debate primarily revolved around the definition of student housing and the necessity of a $200 fee to issue a certificate of occupancy. A proposed ordinance requires four readings before the city council makes its final decision.

Benanav’s plan defines student housing as “a living arrangement within a one or two family dwelling by persons unrelated by blood, marriage, domestic partnership or legal adoption who are attending a technical, community college, undergraduate or graduate programs offered by technical schools, colleges or universities, or any combination of such persons.”

Landlords and community residents expressed concern that this definition is too vague, thus making the certificate of occupancy ordinance difficult to enforce.

Bill Cullen, a landlord opposed to the ordinance expressed a problem with the definition of “student house” and said that the “key word ‘attending’ must be more specific.”

Community members and landlords also expressed concern about the $200 fee required to issue a certificate of occupancy to a student dwelling.

“The issue is what safety is worth. As a parent, I’d like to know my student is in a house that is somewhat safe. You can make the argument that you shouldn’t have a certificate of occupancy for anything because of money, but student safety is paramount,” Benanav said in support of his plan.

The council voted 6-0 in favor of Benanav’s proposed ordinance. However, it will not make the final decision regarding both the rental registration plan and the certificate of occupancy plan until the next meeting.

The City Council next meets at 5:30 on Nov. 5. The meeting will be held at the St. Paul City Hall and the meeting is open to the public.