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A Call to Limit the Number Inhabitants of Single-Family Homes in College Station: No More than Four Unrelated People

Introduction

Often, single-family residents experience housing challenges when they live in a city surrounding colleges or universities. Regardless of housing facilities available on campuses, some students opt to look for housing outside their campuses. These homes originally meant for single-housing dwelling are modified to suit student housing structures for students who live near their college. Among the issues that arise are the high rates of congestion, noise, lack of enough parking space, ownership of property, and safety issues ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {“citationID”:”6BPLgk9R”,”properties”:{“formattedCitation”:”(Sorensen and Ohm 2)”,”plainCitation”:”(Sorensen and Ohm 2)”,”noteIndex”:0},”citationItems”:[{“id”:941,”uris”:[“http://zotero.org/users/local/rEYGfGF8/items/J7EMUF2L”],”uri”:[“http://zotero.org/users/local/rEYGfGF8/items/J7EMUF2L”],”itemData”:{“id”:941,”type”:”article”,”title”:”How to Define a Family? The Special Case of Regulating Student Rental Housing In Single-Family Residential Neighborhoods In Wisconsin’s College and University Communities”,”author”:[{“family”:”Sorensen”,”given”:”Matthew J.”},{“family”:”Ohm”,”given”:”Brian W.”}],”issued”:{“date-parts”:[[“2015″]]}},”locator”:”2″,”label”:”page”}],”schema”:”https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json”} (Sorensen and Ohm 2). The traditional definition of the term family means individuals with blood, marriage, or adoption relations. However, currently, a family can be defined as people who live together and share a house, cooking, sleeping, or eating spaces. A family does not include people with a temporary association, organizations, or clubs ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {“citationID”:”GN9MOiMt”,”properties”:{“formattedCitation”:”(Sorensen and Ohm 3)”,”plainCitation”:”(Sorensen and Ohm 3)”,”noteIndex”:0},”citationItems”:[{“id”:941,”uris”:[“http://zotero.org/users/local/rEYGfGF8/items/J7EMUF2L”],”uri”:[“http://zotero.org/users/local/rEYGfGF8/items/J7EMUF2L”],”itemData”:{“id”:941,”type”:”article”,”title”:”How to Define a Family? The Special Case of Regulating Student Rental Housing In Single-Family Residential Neighborhoods In Wisconsin’s College and University Communities”,”author”:[{“family”:”Sorensen”,”given”:”Matthew J.”},{“family”:”Ohm”,”given”:”Brian W.”}],”issued”:{“date-parts”:[[“2015″]]}},”locator”:”3″,”label”:”page”}],”schema”:”https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json”} ( 3). College Station is a city that developed around Texas A&M University around the 20th century. The university led to the development of residential places and, thus, a growing economy for the city. To maintain integrity and safety within the region, the city council adopted an ordinance restricting single-family homes to consist of not more than four unrelated people living in a household ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {“citationID”:”yJTsdsqS”,”properties”:{“formattedCitation”:”(Wilkins 2)”,”plainCitation”:”(Wilkins 2)”,”noteIndex”:0},”citationItems”:[{“id”:940,”uris”:[“http://zotero.org/users/local/rEYGfGF8/items/ZA827ZG6″],”uri”:[“http://zotero.org/users/local/rEYGfGF8/items/ZA827ZG6″],”itemData”:{“id”:940,”type”:”article”,”title”:”College Station City Council OKs ordinance allowing up to six to live in single unit”,”author”:[{“family”:”Wilkins”,”given”:”Emily”}],”issued”:{“date-parts”:[[“2015″]]}},”locator”:”2″,”label”:”page”}],”schema”:”https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json”} (Wilkins 2). The council also required the registration of rental property. Apart from maintaining integrity, the ordinance also stipulated that people would be living in a safe and healthy neighborhood. A large number of students, therefore, renting single-family units will have an impact on the economy, social livelihood, and general characteristics of the affected region. This paper will discuss the assessment of the current situation in City Station and the benefits of the ordinance, which is to limit the number of inhabitants of single-family homes in College Station to no more than four unrelated people. It will further discuss its benefits, counterarguments, and recommendations for the proposal.

Assessment of the Current situation

Many who are not students vacate the area to move to affluent neighborhoods. The major reason is to avoid the noise, property crimes, and sex-related offenses often associated with the influx of students. The number of the student population has steadily increased to an average of 43% in College Station ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {“citationID”:”9xIUHVHN”,”properties”:{“formattedCitation”:”(City of College Station)”,”plainCitation”:”(City of College Station)”,”noteIndex”:0},”citationItems”:[{“id”:947,”uris”:[“http://zotero.org/users/local/rEYGfGF8/items/XGA2SQVZ”],”uri”:[“http://zotero.org/users/local/rEYGfGF8/items/XGA2SQVZ”],”itemData”:{“id”:947,”type”:”speech”,”abstract”:”City of Bryan Neighborhood Protection Ordinances”,”genre”:”Government & Nonprofit”,”note”:”source: SlideShare”,”title”:”City of Bryan Neighborhood Protection Ordinances”,”URL”:”https://www.slideshare.net/ColinKillian/city-of-bryan-neighborhood-protection-ordinances”,”author”:[{“family”:”City of College Station”,”given”:””}],”accessed”:{“date-parts”:[[“2020″,5,11]]},”issued”:{“literal”:”20:05:25 UTC”}}}],”schema”:”https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json”} (City of College Station). Because of this reason, many landlords have invested in more rental houses, where they have included the single-family residence to house a maximum of four people, such that roommates can share a housing facility to minimize costs. For instance, residents of College Station protested against more installment of student housing. Some residents who are earning merger incomes feared for displacement because they may not be able to afford these houses, as the college houses have an increased market value and demand ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {“citationID”:”YrNQPIpJ”,”properties”:{“formattedCitation”:”(Falls 1)”,”plainCitation”:”(Falls 1)”,”noteIndex”:0},”citationItems”:[{“id”:936,”uris”:[“http://zotero.org/users/local/rEYGfGF8/items/EHV38RKW”],”uri”:[“http://zotero.org/users/local/rEYGfGF8/items/EHV38RKW”],”itemData”:{“id”:936,”type”:”article”,”title”:”College Station Neighborhood Working With City to Limit Size of College Rental Homes”,”author”:[{“family”:”Falls”,”given”:”Clay”}],”issued”:{“date-parts”:[[“2015″]]}},”locator”:”1″,”label”:”page”}],”schema”:”https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json”} (Falls 1). The author maintains that residents agree on the existence of a decree about the restriction of four-unrelated members in a single housing unit. Still, the order does not highlight how many bedrooms it should contain.

More students from Texas A&M University have rented single-family homes in Alabama and Detroit Street ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {“citationID”:”bWizG3Mt”,”properties”:{“formattedCitation”:”(Clark 2)”,”plainCitation”:”(Clark 2)”,”noteIndex”:0},”citationItems”:[{“id”:937,”uris”:[“http://zotero.org/users/local/rEYGfGF8/items/GACPX57Y”],”uri”:[“http://zotero.org/users/local/rEYGfGF8/items/GACPX57Y”],”itemData”:{“id”:937,”type”:”article”,”title”:”Residents fight to maintain integrity of McCulloch subdivision”,”author”:[{“family”:”Clark”,”given”:”Caitlin”}],”issued”:{“date-parts”:[[“2015″]]}},”locator”:”2″,”label”:”page”}],”schema”:”https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json”} (Clark 2). It is an indication that more students may displace the residents of these regions. The many complaints arising from the current situation is that locals have been subjected to high tax rates, much traffic, and noise. They also fear losing their neighborhood, which they have an attachment for a long period. The single-family homes are also a reflection of the income, age and gender demographics, social and economic status. These are the determinants of what comprises the single-family homes. They determine whether there will be homogeneity, integrity, equality in sharing the available resources, and access to amenities such as medical services, public transport, and schools.

Fig 1 showing how different ages earn income ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {“citationID”:”VY5jtR5i”,”properties”:{“formattedCitation”:”(https://www.point2homes.com/US/Neighborhood/TX/College-Station-Demographics.html)”,”plainCitation”:”(https://www.point2homes.com/US/Neighborhood/TX/College-Station-Demographics.html)”,”noteIndex”:0},”citationItems”:[{“id”:942,”uris”:[“http://zotero.org/users/local/rEYGfGF8/items/ZF529SN3″],”uri”:[“http://zotero.org/users/local/rEYGfGF8/items/ZF529SN3″],”itemData”:{“id”:942,”type”:”article”,”title”:”College Station Demographics”,”URL”:”https://www.point2homes.com/US/Neighborhood/TX/College-Station-Demographics.html”,”author”:[{“family”:”https://www.point2homes.com/US/Neighborhood/TX/College-Station-Demographics.html”,”given”:””}],”issued”:{“date-parts”:[[“2020″]]}}}],”schema”:”https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json”} (https://www.point2homes.com/US/Neighborhood/TX/College-Station-Demographics.html)

According to the ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {“citationID”:”1AI4VnRk”,”properties”:{“formattedCitation”:”(U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development 1)”,”plainCitation”:”(U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development 1)”,”noteIndex”:0},”citationItems”:[{“id”:935,”uris”:[“http://zotero.org/users/local/rEYGfGF8/items/P85HKLZ2″],”uri”:[“http://zotero.org/users/local/rEYGfGF8/items/P85HKLZ2″],”itemData”:{“id”:935,”type”:”article”,”title”:”COMPREHENSIVE HOUSING MARKET ANALYSIS U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Office of Policy Development and Research As of May 1, 2007 College Station-Bryan, Texas”,”URL”:”https://www.huduser.gov/portal/publications/pdf/CMAR_CollegeStnTX.pdf”,”author”:[{“family”:”U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development”,”given”:””}],”issued”:{“date-parts”:[[“2007″]]}},”locator”:”1″,”label”:”page”}],”schema”:”https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json”} U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (1), a single-family ordinance has led to increased renter reports. There has been an increase in demand for rental housing courtesy of university students.

Fig 2 showing the housing demand in College Station from 2006 to 2010.

Fig 3 showing the number of household station in 2019-2020 ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {“citationID”:”bApYiA74″,”properties”:{“formattedCitation”:”(https://www.point2homes.com/US/Neighborhood/TX/College-Station-Demographics.html)”,”plainCitation”:”(https://www.point2homes.com/US/Neighborhood/TX/College-Station-Demographics.html)”,”noteIndex”:0},”citationItems”:[{“id”:942,”uris”:[“http://zotero.org/users/local/rEYGfGF8/items/ZF529SN3″],”uri”:[“http://zotero.org/users/local/rEYGfGF8/items/ZF529SN3″],”itemData”:{“id”:942,”type”:”article”,”title”:”College Station Demographics”,”URL”:”https://www.point2homes.com/US/Neighborhood/TX/College-Station-Demographics.html”,”author”:[{“family”:”https://www.point2homes.com/US/Neighborhood/TX/College-Station-Demographics.html”,”given”:””}],”issued”:{“date-parts”:[[“2020″]]}}}],”schema”:”https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json”} (https://www.point2homes.com/US/Neighborhood/TX/College-Station-Demographics.html)

Fig 4 showing a trend in demographics in Housing in College Station ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {“citationID”:”LbobRAkn”,”properties”:{“formattedCitation”:”(https://www.point2homes.com/US/Neighborhood/TX/College-Station-Demographics.html)”,”plainCitation”:”(https://www.point2homes.com/US/Neighborhood/TX/College-Station-Demographics.html)”,”noteIndex”:0},”citationItems”:[{“id”:942,”uris”:[“http://zotero.org/users/local/rEYGfGF8/items/ZF529SN3″],”uri”:[“http://zotero.org/users/local/rEYGfGF8/items/ZF529SN3″],”itemData”:{“id”:942,”type”:”article”,”title”:”College Station Demographics”,”URL”:”https://www.point2homes.com/US/Neighborhood/TX/College-Station-Demographics.html”,”author”:[{“family”:”https://www.point2homes.com/US/Neighborhood/TX/College-Station-Demographics.html”,”given”:””}],”issued”:{“date-parts”:[[“2020″]]}}}],”schema”:”https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json”} (https://www.point2homes.com/US/Neighborhood/TX/College-Station-Demographics.html)

Benefits of limiting single-family homes to not more than four unrelated people

The primary benefit is a reduction in the costs of living, especially for students. Single-family units are easy to maintain because the unrelated people staying there will have an individual responsibility of taking care of their residences. The flexibility and lack of own instead of group responsibility is an advantage to the majority of the renters ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {“citationID”:”qoleBRwo”,”properties”:{“formattedCitation”:”(Reid et al. 7)”,”plainCitation”:”(Reid et al. 7)”,”noteIndex”:0},”citationItems”:[{“id”:938,”uris”:[“http://zotero.org/users/local/rEYGfGF8/items/2SHFIX6C”],”uri”:[“http://zotero.org/users/local/rEYGfGF8/items/2SHFIX6C”],”itemData”:{“id”:938,”type”:”article”,”title”:”The Rise of Single-Family Rentals after the Foreclosure Crisis”,”author”:[{“family”:”Reid”,”given”:”Carolina K.”},{“family”:”Moyano”,”given”:”Rocio Sanchez-“},{“family”:”Galante”,”given”:”Carol J.”}],”issued”:{“date-parts”:[[“2018″]]}},”locator”:”7″,”label”:”page”}],”schema”:”https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json”} (Reid et al. 7). Besides, since the significantly affected party is the students, they enjoy a lack of obligation to maintain their homes alone. Moreover, the author argues that people may house to live in single-family homes rather than owning or buying their own houses. The benefit of this idea is that many, who are students and low-income earners, will focus on other projects that require their maximum attention. There is, in addition, a need to share housing facilities from students and other people. These students require living comfortably outside their campuses while maintaining decency, safety, and healthy neighborhoods.

Moreover, single-family homes consisting of unrelated people have lessened discrimination against racer and class. People who begin living as strangers will opt to live as a family, even with differences in quality, race, and economic backgrounds ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {“citationID”:”vDAm4tn1″,”properties”:{“formattedCitation”:”(REDBURN 4)”,”plainCitation”:”(REDBURN 4)”,”noteIndex”:0},”citationItems”:[{“id”:944,”uris”:[“http://zotero.org/users/local/rEYGfGF8/items/NXYJLS64″],”uri”:[“http://zotero.org/users/local/rEYGfGF8/items/NXYJLS64″],”itemData”:{“id”:944,”type”:”article”,”title”:”Why are Zoning Laws Defining What Consitutes a Family?”,”author”:[{“family”:”REDBURN”,”given”:”KATE”}],”issued”:{“date-parts”:[[“2019″]]}},”locator”:”4″,”label”:”page”}],”schema”:”https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json”} (REDBURN 4).

As opposed to the other housing types, single-family units are in increased demand. This is a benefit to landlords who want to invest in the housing markets ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {“citationID”:”i8VnbW6N”,”properties”:{“formattedCitation”:”(CLARK 4)”,”plainCitation”:”(CLARK 4)”,”noteIndex”:0},”citationItems”:[{“id”:939,”uris”:[“http://zotero.org/users/local/rEYGfGF8/items/2E24RD9N”],”uri”:[“http://zotero.org/users/local/rEYGfGF8/items/2E24RD9N”],”itemData”:{“id”:939,”type”:”article”,”title”:”College Station City Council seeks to create zoning district”,”author”:[{“family”:”CLARK”,”given”:”CAITLIN”}],”issued”:{“date-parts”:[[“2018″]]}},”locator”:”4″,”label”:”page”}],”schema”:”https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json”} (CLARK 4). These property owners, with updated records abiding by the law requirements, will provide affordable housing to their tenants. Further, residents, especially students of these single-family housing, are conversant with the laws against noise on neighborhoods, as they will be charged a fine for violating the rules ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {“citationID”:”3QXBp12a”,”properties”:{“formattedCitation”:”(Cogan 3)”,”plainCitation”:”(Cogan 3)”,”noteIndex”:0},”citationItems”:[{“id”:945,”uris”:[“http://zotero.org/users/local/rEYGfGF8/items/Z55PIFDJ”],”uri”:[“http://zotero.org/users/local/rEYGfGF8/items/Z55PIFDJ”],”itemData”:{“id”:945,”type”:”article-journal”,”abstract”:”The City of Evanston’s recently reported decision to enforce ordinance 6-4-1-14, also known as the “three unrelated” ordinance, and their subsequent decision to delay enforcement, has introduced a great degree of uncertainty into students’ housing”,”language”:”en”,”source”:”www.academia.edu”,”title”:”Rental Unit Occupancy Restrictions: Common Practices and Analysis of City of Evanston Ordinance 6-4-1-14″,”title-short”:”Rental Unit Occupancy Restrictions”,”URL”:”https://www.academia.edu/12877743/Rental_Unit_Occupancy_Restrictions_Common_Practices_and_Analysis_of_City_of_Evanston_Ordinance_6-4-1-14″,”author”:[{“family”:”Cogan”,”given”:”Jared”}],”accessed”:{“date-parts”:[[“2020″,5,11]]}},”locator”:”3″,”label”:”page”}],”schema”:”https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json”} (Cogan 3). More rules prevent overcrowding and congestion, which has, therefore, reflected the ordinance of four-unrelated people living in single-family homes.

Single-family homes have benefited residents who struggle through paying for housing subsidies and covering costs. Through this, they have an added advantage for larger safe spaces and attending community colleges and universities, which are affordable.

Counterarguments

It is argued that continuously building single-family houses with four to five bedrooms and bathrooms will have lost the meaning of what a ‘single-family’ comprises. Besides, the number of bedrooms with unrelated people may present difficulties in maintaining the integrity of neighborhoods as earlier implied (Clark 4). Also, only the unrelated should not share a housing unit. However, related people may share a bedroom ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {“citationID”:”vWphN4FY”,”properties”:{“formattedCitation”:”(Wilkins 3)”,”plainCitation”:”(Wilkins 3)”,”noteIndex”:0},”citationItems”:[{“id”:940,”uris”:[“http://zotero.org/users/local/rEYGfGF8/items/ZA827ZG6″],”uri”:[“http://zotero.org/users/local/rEYGfGF8/items/ZA827ZG6″],”itemData”:{“id”:940,”type”:”article”,”title”:”College Station City Council OKs ordinance allowing up to six to live in single unit”,”author”:[{“family”:”Wilkins”,”given”:”Emily”}],”issued”:{“date-parts”:[[“2015″]]}},”locator”:”3″,”label”:”page”}],”schema”:”https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json”} (Wilkins 3). The “four-unrelated people” ordinance might not be easy to enforce because it does affect not only students but also young professionals and the elderly. These have had a newer definition of the term family, which should not be tied to traditional meanings. The elderly are cohabiting in the quest to save finances and take care of each other. Besides, these people require assistance from other people while they carry out their normal lifestyles ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {“citationID”:”TVqNOs8t”,”properties”:{“formattedCitation”:”(March 3)”,”plainCitation”:”(March 3)”,”noteIndex”:0},”citationItems”:[{“id”:943,”uris”:[“http://zotero.org/users/local/rEYGfGF8/items/4WRLI3AW”],”uri”:[“http://zotero.org/users/local/rEYGfGF8/items/4WRLI3AW”],”itemData”:{“id”:943,”type”:”article”,”title”:”Some renters living in violation of “four-person rule””””