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CollegeTownLife Downzoning in Grand Forks, ND |
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CollegeTownLife Downzoning in Grand Forks, ND |
| 2004-5 Commission
nixes rezoning UND area neighborhood The vote was not unexpected, given that the idea's original supporters no longer were pushing for rezoning. Instead of a rezone, those involved have concluded that stricter enforcement of existing laws might do just as well. Another solution to limit growth is to impose caps on the number of renters allowed, the justification being to prevent the overload of infrastructure. But most of the solutions fall not within the commission's jurisdiction but the City Council's, which is where the issue will move next. Commissioners voted unanimously to deny the rezoning request. The proposed rezoning of the 107-acre area northeast of UND emerged in October after longtime residents complained that too many single-family homes were being converted into rental units. Parking had become difficult; renters, many of them students, were throwing parties late into the night; and upkeep of some properties was less than exemplary. Rezoning would have forbidden any new rental properties. For such a contentious issue, the commission's vote
came with little discussion and no protests. The main reason: A task
force the council formed to look into the matter included residents
and rental property owners... Residents of a neighborhood just east of campus will have to wait 30 more days before a possible change in zoning moves to the next level. The UND Rezoning Task Force will be examining the issue for another month before the matter is put in the hands of the Grand Forks Planning and Zoning Commission. The task force was originally scheduled to present a recommendation to the commission by Nov. 24, but formulating that recommendation is taking longer than anticipated. During Monday's weekly meeting, the task force set Dec. 20 as a tentative date for members to sign off on a recommendation. Also during Monday's meeting the subcommittees on enforcement, rezoning and community presented some of their suggestions to the task force. Most of Monday's discussion dealt with the idea of putting a message on water bills to inform citizens of Grand Forks' zoning regulations, and also who to contact if there is a problem. According to Gary Malm, of the Planning and Zoning Commission, complaints from community members currently do not go to a centralized location. He said the police department sees a lot of complaints, but then other agencies are not notified of the complaints, so the problem is not fixed. "One of the things (the enforcement subcommittee) said is someplace down the line ... (complaints) would all need to go to one location," said Malm. Malm said the idea of posting a message on residents' water bills would help direct all complaints to one place. He also stated that the messages would help educate residents in the area of city ordinances. "I don't think a lot of people in Grand Forks know what these ordinances are," he said. The task force also discussed the possibility of adding a message to residents in a calendar that is put out by the city's Public Information Center each year to all Grand Forks households. The issue of density was the focus of the rezoning subcommittee. According to Curt Kreun, city councilman in Ward 7, the task force needs to look at establishing criteria for density. He said it is a problem faced by many communities around the nation. "Throughout the whole country, this is a problem ... we're not inventing the wheel here." Kreun suggested the task force look at plans from other communities in addressing the issue. He also stated that the rezoning issue is more difficult than the subcommittee had anticipated. The community subcommittee presented their findings on the issue of tenant-landlord communication, and also communication between students and their neighbors. Ryan Rauschenberger, the task force's Student Government representative, suggested that students give their contact information to neighbors. He said if neighbors talked directly to the students, other entities might not need to get involved. "I think it could help solve a few problems before they start," he said. Task
force focuses on three areas The UND Rezoning Task Force decided to break into three subcommittees during Monday's weekly meeting. The subcommittees will each tackle one of the following issues: rezoning, enforcement and community building. The rezoning subcommittee will take a look at issues such as other cities' zoning plans, insurance issues and a possible cap on the amount of homeowners who can rent their house to other people. Enforcement issues include the possibility of requesting help from the University Police Department (UPD) in patrolling the area. Although the UPD currently does not patrol areas off campus, they do have jurisdiction in Grand Forks. The group spent a lot of time discussing enforcement issues during Monday's meeting. Members voiced concerns about how certain zoning regulations, such as a cap, can be enforced. The enforcement subcommittee will take these issues into consideration for next week. Characteristics of the neighborhood were also brought before the task force. The area in question - just east of campus, between Columbia Road and North 20th Street - is composed of about 91 percent of single-family homes. On the other hand, 21 percent of the houses are not occupied by the owner. The three subcommittees will present their findings during next week's task force meeting. The task force will meet again on Monday at 4:30 p.m. at Grand Forks City Hall. PANEL VEERS FARTHER FROM
REZONING (paid archive) Efforts to solve the problem of an increase in the amount of rental homes in an area close to campus continued Monday as a committee met for the second time to discuss the issue. The committee - created by the Grand Forks City Council - was formed to find a solution for zoning problems in a neighborhood east of UND's campus. The neighborhood is bordered by Columbia Road and North 20th Street on the east and west, and North 4th and 10th Avenues on the north and south. Although no definite decisions were with the problem were made on Monday, the committee discussed methods in which other cities have dealt with overcrowding in neighborhoods. Curt Kruen, Grand Forks city councilman in Ward 7, said that the neighborhood is not equipped to handle a large increase in population. He said the sewer and water systems in the area are not capable of dealing with excessive use. The concerns stem largely from an increase in the amount of student renters in the area. Some of the concerns are that a large number of adults living in one residence increases the strain put on public works and the traffic in the area. In addition to addressing issues regarding strain on public works, the committee looked at crime statistics in the area, and also a map that designated homes that were rented out and those in which the owners lived. The committee will continue to discuss similar issues when it meets again in order to become adequately informed before making a recommendation to the Planning and Zoning Commission and Grand Forks City Council. The next meeting will be Monday at 4:30 p.m. at City
Hall. The committee will forward its recommendation to the Planning
and Zoning Commission and City Council by Nov. 24. REZONING TASK FORCE HOLDS
FIRST MEETING (paid archive) A committee has been created by the city of Grand Forks to consider the possible rezoning of a neighborhood northeast of campus - a move that could affect UND students living in the area. The committee was created by the Grand Forks City Council in response to a rezoning request made by some residents of the area, which is bounded by Columbia Road and North 20th Street on the west and east and North 4th and 10 Avenues on the south and north, to the Planning and Zoning Commission. After seeing more and more homes be turned into rental properties, a petition was circulated asking for the area to be rezoned, which would limit the number of non-related people that can live under the same roof. More than 250 landowners in the area have signed the petition. Specifically, the petition asks that the area be rezoned from an R-2 to R-1. R-1 zones are for single-family dwellings - a designation that would prevent more homes in the area from being converted to multiple-residence dwellings, such as duplexes and four-plexes. Current R-2 properties would be grandfathered in. According to Gerald Hamerlick, city councilman of the area, those who support the rezoning are primarily concerned with the direction of the neighborhood. He said that residents are troubled by the large number of cars that come with multiple-residence dwellings, as well as the noise associated with college-aged residents. "Most homeowners don't really have a problem except for the numbers in the (rental) homes," Hamerlick said. Also, residents feel their properties are losing value, according to Hamerlick, as the number of rental properties continues to increase - 15 new ones in the last 12 months. He said that absentee landlords have added to the problem, as they don't always keep up on the appearances of houses, including lawns. However, many UND students have objected to the rezoning and feel that they - and their living situations - are being unjustly attacked. "It just seems like another example of the city trying to push us aside," said Kelly Stoller, a UND student senator who lives in the aforementioned area. "It's hard enough for students to find cheap rent already." The decision is not completely beyond students, as they will have a voice on the committee's decision. Ryan Rauschenberger, student governmental affairs commissioner, is one of the committee's eight members. The other committee members include three city councilmen, two members of the Planning and Zoning Commission, one area renter and one area homeowner. Rauschenberger said that while a compromise would have to be worked out, his main objective is to protect students' interests. "We just want to make sure that students aren't singled out," he said. Rauschenberger added that part of the problem has been a lack of communication between the area's residents. "Neighbors have to talk to neighbors when they have issues," Rauschenberger said. Stoller added that if area residents have issues with the appearance of rented dwellings, the issue should be taken up with landlords. "If (a home) is becoming rundown, that's the landlords problem," Stoller said. "Don't take it up with students, take it up with the landlord." UND's Student Senate has already taken a stance on the issue. At last Sunday's meeting, the Senate passed a resolution that opposed the rezoning of any R-2 area to an R-1. Daniel El Dweek, the resolution's author, said that its purpose was to take a clear stand against the rezoning. "It's a neighborhood close to campus and if they rezone, there will eventually be a lot of students who won't be able to live in the area," he said. "They will have to look for housing farther from campus, which is more expensive." El Dweek added that some of the complaints, such as problems with noise, can be dealt with in a better manner than rezoning. He also said that some of this might be a backlash from Springfest, the annual celebration on the Saturday before finals, which is held in University Park and borders the area in question. The committee will formulate a recommendation that will be forwarded to both the Planning and Zoning Commission and the City Council by Nov. 24. The Planning and Zoning Commission will then formulate its own recommendation, and the City Council will make the final decision as to whether rezoning will occur. STUDENTS EXPRESS DISPLEASURE
WITH COMMUNITY HOUSING MOVES (paid
archive) UND
NOTEBOOK: Students express displeasure with community housing moves UND student leaders are making their voices heard on housing matters on and around campus this week. Two separate resolutions are expected to be introduced at UND's Student Senate meeting today dealing with trends the student authors see as contrary to providing future affordable housing options. One resolution offered up by Dan El-Dweek, a UND law student, takes head on what he calls "exclusionary zoning" in city neighborhoods northeast of Grand Forks. He's referring to a city task force that is eyeing rezoning neighborhoods northeast of campus to prevent single-family homes there from being converted to multiple-family dwellings. Some residents argue such dwellings bring down property values. El-Dweek contends the move would reduce the number of available living spaces for students and increase rents. Another resolution says UND is not doing enough to develop student housing in University Village on the north side of campus. Private developers have built commercial and high-end town homes in the area, but students say the school should be doing more to bring student housing there. More student housing is something administrators advocate as the school considers increasing its enrollment from 13,200 student to between 14,000 and 16,000. Energy champion Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., received a rarely bestowed award Thursday from UND's Energy and Environmental Research Center. EERC gave the senator its Energy Champion Award, the first dished out in eight years. EERC says Dorgan has secured more than $200 million in federal funds for advanced research in North Dakota, much of it centered on the state's college and universities, EERC officials said. He is a member of the Senate Energy Committee and is working to make the EERC a national center for hydrogen fuel-cell research. Wakefield on panel Mary Wakefield, director of the Center for Rural Health at UND's School of Medicine and Health Sciences, has been elected to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies. Wakefield is one of 65 new members named this week to the IOM, raising its total membership to more than 1,400. The IOM was established 34 years ago as an advisory panel for scientific and technology matters. Most of its work is requested by government agencies. Superstar preacher Most didn't realize it, but UND was visited by a multi-platinum recording artist last week. Pastor Mason Betha, also known as Ma$e, the successful rap star who gave up the music scene in 1999 to pursue his spirituality, brought his ministry to campus Tuesday as part of his Born to Success Crusade 2004. After giving up the rap star life, Betha returned to his hometown of Atlanta to study the Bible. He now holds two honorary doctorate degrees. In 2001, he founded Save A Nation Endangered Church International, which has about 1,000 members. Ma$e was best known as the semi-raunchy rhymer on the Bad Boy record label and Sean "P Diddy" Combs' onetime sidekick. He has since started rapping again, only with much cleaner lyrics. CITY GIVES STUDENTS, PROPERTY
OWNERS VOICE ON REZONING (paid archive)
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