|
for those not protected by the FHAA, among
<br />them halfway houses and alternatives to
<br />incarceration; short-term rentals such as
<br />Airbnb; fraternities and sororities; group
<br />homes for abused and neglected youths
<br />and runaways; shelters for battered women;
<br />homes for teenage mothers and their chil-
<br />dren; homes for the elderly; foster care and
<br />short-term support homes; respite care; and
<br />many more. Over -inclusive regulation to stop
<br />off -campus housing can wipe out housing
<br />opportunities for other types of households.
<br />Under -inclusive regulation to avoid those
<br />unintended consequences can leave the door
<br />open to the off -campus housing you are try-
<br />ing to control. It is a hard line to draw.
<br />PROVEN TECHNIQUES TO ADDRESS THE ISSUES
<br />We have almost4o,000 counties, municipali-
<br />ties, and townships in the U.S. (U.S. Census
<br />2012), and with a little digging we can find
<br />many good, workable approaches to the off -
<br />campus student housing problem.
<br />Coordinate, Plan, and Measure
<br />to Meet Demand
<br />Most important is creating and maintaining a
<br />working town and gown relationship. It isn't
<br />easy, but it is essential (Hamden 2015 and
<br />Kovner zo15). Good examples abound. Check
<br />out Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and its efforts
<br />to work together with the University of North
<br />Carolina (2017). Take a look at their guidance
<br />for off -campus living and their "Good Neigh-
<br />bors" brochure that applies a "gentle touch"
<br />to the issue of property maintenance and
<br />code enforcement (2013 and 2009).
<br />Even with the town's best efforts, the
<br />economics of the demand for off -campus
<br />housing continues to put pressure on the
<br />affordable housing stock (Ball 2015). In
<br />response, the town has formed a partnership
<br />with the university and Self -Help, a local
<br />nonprofit community developer, to work with
<br />residents to create more affordable hous-
<br />ing. The resulting Northside Neighborhood
<br />Initiative (NNI), steered by residents of the
<br />traditionally African American Northside
<br />neighborhood on the edge of downtown,
<br />invests funds from the partner organizations
<br />to acquire and build affordable units.
<br />Chapel Hill's housing and commu-
<br />nity director Loryn Clark, AICP, notes that
<br />"already, after just two years, the NNI has
<br />helped to increase the stock of affordable
<br />housing available to families, in a way that
<br />empowers community members." Chapel
<br />Hill's planning and development services
<br />director, Ben Hitchings, AICP, adds, "pairing
<br />proactive outreach to students with creative
<br />community partnerships can help reduce the
<br />impacts of off -campus student housing and
<br />build the stock of affordable units available
<br />to local residents."
<br />Exemplary regulations along the same
<br />lines of"if you can't beat'em, accommodate
<br />'em" abound.
<br />College Station, Texas, has three
<br />Northgate overlay districts "characterized as
<br />a unique `campus neighborhood' containing
<br />local businesses, churches, and off -campus
<br />housing in close proximity to the University"
<br />(§12-5.8.B). According to College Station's
<br />planning director, Lance Simms, AICP, these
<br />districts have "been instrumental in help-
<br />ing the city accommodate the ever-growing
<br />student population," Simms says that resi-
<br />dents of the city's "established single-family
<br />neighborhoods often view student rentals
<br />as a threat and the Northgate districts help
<br />relieve the rental pressure by providing a
<br />place for students to live, work, eat, and
<br />recreate near the university,"
<br />Las Cruces, New Mexico, has similarly
<br />been proactive in meeting the demand with
<br />its University Overlay District, by which it
<br />intends to allow greater flexibility to devel-
<br />opers and land owners while encouraging
<br />the development of a vibrant; mixed use
<br />University District 038-44). The purpose
<br />"is to implement transportation, land use
<br />and urban design policies as established in
<br />the University District plan." The "walkable,
<br />mixed -use, higher density" district" sup-
<br />ports sustainable development by providing
<br />an alternative to low -density development
<br />in peripheral areas." The city's community
<br />development director, David Weir, AICP, says
<br />that "the city and New Mexico State Univer-
<br />sity have collaborated through the overlay
<br />district to plan, develop, and redevelop the
<br />University Avenue [area] for over 20 years."
<br />According to Weir, the overlay helps satisfy
<br />demand for student housing, while protecting
<br />older single-family neighborhoods from the
<br />negative effects of student encroachment.
<br />"The overlay has fostered improved aesthet-
<br />ics for the entire the corridor and the interface
<br />between the city and university," says Weir.
<br />Zoning to meet demand and to reduce
<br />the impacts is not a cure-all, however. There
<br />can still be tensions. Ames, Iowa, has a
<br />high -density residential district as well as
<br />a Campustown Service Center mixed use
<br />district for certain areas adjacent to the
<br />Iowa State University campus (§29.7o4 &
<br />§29.809). According to the city's planning
<br />and housing director, Kelly Diekmann, "in
<br />the areas near campus we have had a lot of
<br />tension of balancing neighborhood livability
<br />issues with student housing demands." In
<br />response, the city is reviewing its parking
<br />regulations and occupancy rules to help miti-
<br />gate some of the impacts of student housing
<br />in established single-family neighbor-
<br />hoods. Diekmann says the city permits up to
<br />five unrelated persons per dwelling unit in
<br />higher density areas, but has also typically
<br />required more off-street parking in those
<br />areas. The exception is the Campustown dis-
<br />trict, where off-street parking requirements
<br />are lower to encourage redevelopment.
<br />According to Diekmann, Ames is also
<br />considering changes to its occupancy stan-
<br />dards, rental concentration restrictions on
<br />the number of homes that can be licensed for
<br />rental in certain areas, additional property
<br />and building improvement requirements for
<br />rentals, provisions to manage teardowns and
<br />rebuilds or additions that could affect neigh-
<br />borhood character, and greater articulation
<br />of the differences between group living and
<br />household living.
<br />REGULATE IN AREAS SUBJECT TO INVASION
<br />The impacts of existing student housing
<br />on single-family neighborhoods can be
<br />addressed with zoning regulations that
<br />prevent or ameliorate these impacts. Ames,
<br />Iowa, uses an overlay district in "impacted"
<br />areas east and west of the campus to prevent
<br />the demolition of fraternities and sororities
<br />on the east side and to relieve off -campus
<br />student housing pressures on the west side
<br />(§§29.1110-1111).
<br />The range of alternative approaches
<br />is illustrated by the other communities
<br />with overlay districts including St. Paul,
<br />Minnesota (§67.7oo); Columbia, Missouri
<br />(§29-21.1); East Lansing, Michigan (§50-772
<br />et seq.); and Oxford, Mississippi (§A.2:148).
<br />Some communities control develop-
<br />ment near campus with form -based codes.
<br />In 2014, Ithaca, New York, adopted sixCol-
<br />legetown Area Form Districts for an area near
<br />Cornell University to help implement the
<br />city's 2009 Collegetown Urban Plan and Con-
<br />ceptual Design Guidelines (§32-45.1 et seq.).
<br />ZONINGPRACTICE 8.17
<br />AMERICAN PLANNING ASSOCIATION page 4
<br />
|