By STEPHEN BARTLETT
Staff Writer
January 16, 2008 04:48 pm
—
PLATTSBURGH — City of Plattsburgh officials hope changes in law will ease problems with drunken college students.
The Common Council will hold public hearings soon to give residents an opportunity to offer their two cents on proposed changes to city ordinances. The Common Council is considering altering noise ordinances and the definition of what constitutes a family.
Once the hearings are held, city officials will vote on whether to adopt the law changes that were recommended by a commission formed to curb problems often caused by college students, especially in the Center City area.
“There is a game plan,” said Plattsburgh City Mayor Donald Kasprzak.
REPORT SETS COURSE
For years, Plattsburgh residents, largely in the Center City area, have complained about problems caused by drunken college students who urinate on public property, shout during the middle of the night while stumbling home from downtown, destroy property and sometimes enter residences.
Kasprzak and Plattsburgh State President Dr. John Ettling formed a commission last April, headed by Dr. Edward Miller of Plattsburgh State, to examine the situation and present recommendations to help with Center City issues.
The July report contained 39 recommendations, including changes to the city noise ordinance and the definition of family housing, nuisance ordinances to ensure landlords maintain properties, civil penalties resulting from hosting parties and stings, increased enforcement and stricter guidelines for renting college housing.
The commission also suggested the city require registration, inspection and permitting of properties rented to college students.
COLLEGE CHANGES
So far, Plattsburgh State has lowered the level for violations committed by off-campus students that the college will become involved with, from felony to misdemeanor; is searching for a coordinator of alcohol and other drugs; and began changes to make athletic teams responsible for their behavior, in a fashion similar to other college groups.
The university has also established a committee of students and faculty to discuss college-community relations and is looking to create the position of college-community liaison.
CITY CHANGES
The city is off to a slightly slower start, largely due to three new members assuming seats on the Common Council.
“We are reviewing and are close to having public hearings on two new law changes,” Kasprzak said.
The existing city noise ordinance has been in place since 1988, and some people feel it is confusing. The new ordinance would be clearer when assigning violations and accountability.
The second change being considered would alter the definition of what constitutes a family by limiting the number of non-blood-related people living together in a house from four to three.
As a result, if someone wanted to rent a single-family residence, no more than three non-blood-related people could live there.
Occupants must share the entire house, live and cook together, divide household expenses and be permanent and stable.
The restrictions would not be the same for a traditional or functionally equivalent family.
“The first two took quite a while to openly discuss, and then we had some changes in the language, and then a new council was elected,” Kasprzak said.
Once changes to those two laws have been voted on, city officials will begin discussing more of the commission’s recommendations.
“We will review the other ones in the near future, and we will keep moving ahead with all the recommendations until the council feels we have reviewed everything,” Kasprzak said.
E-mail Steve Bartlett:
sbartlett@pressrepublican.com
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