Spring Break
Limiting non-related people cohabitating unreasonable
By: Sara Foley
Issue date: 6/22/04 Section: Opinion
The neighbors had put up with enough loud parties, crowded streets and trash buildup. Incessant on gaining revenge against the unknowing college students around them, community members of College Park did something they felt more effective than calling in yet another noise violation or attempting to speak with their younger neighbors. They made it the local government's problem.
Don't let the quaint historic houses and proximity to campus fool you.
The College Park subdivision, located east of Texas Avenue across from campus, has become a breeding ground for conflicts that threaten to endanger the privileges enjoyed by the largest sect of College Station citizens: the students.
It is undeniable that the community depends upon students for its very existance, but unfortunately the permanent residents seem to have forgotten this fact yet again. Their attempt to make College Station better for themselves by seeking implementation of unnessesary legislation would not only burden students financially, but fail to solve the actual problems.
This spring, the tension between permanent residents and students reached new heights when the actions of the students drove the other residents to bring their complaints before the College Station City Council, aiming to reduce the number of non-related people allowed to cohabitate in a single-family dwelling from the current limitation of four to three or two.
Besides the obvious appearance that the residents are attempting to alienate students living on limited budgets, the root of the problem is a false belief that the less students in their neighborhood, the faster problems would be solved and the better their subdivision would appear to outsiders. The solitary act of decreasing the number of students in a house, however, doesn't automatically guarentee fewer problems or smaller parties.
As a result of the complaints came the formation of a task force that spent six weeks evaluating a laundry list of concerns from permanent residents, ranging from recurring noise violations to overcrowded streets.
Don't let the quaint historic houses and proximity to campus fool you.
The College Park subdivision, located east of Texas Avenue across from campus, has become a breeding ground for conflicts that threaten to endanger the privileges enjoyed by the largest sect of College Station citizens: the students.
It is undeniable that the community depends upon students for its very existance, but unfortunately the permanent residents seem to have forgotten this fact yet again. Their attempt to make College Station better for themselves by seeking implementation of unnessesary legislation would not only burden students financially, but fail to solve the actual problems.
This spring, the tension between permanent residents and students reached new heights when the actions of the students drove the other residents to bring their complaints before the College Station City Council, aiming to reduce the number of non-related people allowed to cohabitate in a single-family dwelling from the current limitation of four to three or two.
Besides the obvious appearance that the residents are attempting to alienate students living on limited budgets, the root of the problem is a false belief that the less students in their neighborhood, the faster problems would be solved and the better their subdivision would appear to outsiders. The solitary act of decreasing the number of students in a house, however, doesn't automatically guarentee fewer problems or smaller parties.
As a result of the complaints came the formation of a task force that spent six weeks evaluating a laundry list of concerns from permanent residents, ranging from recurring noise violations to overcrowded streets.
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