Caught between University-related housing demands and a strong interest in neighborhood preservation, the Urbana City Council debated Sept. 12 its policy toward rental properties in west Urbana.

Alderman Charlie Smyth, D-Ward 1, said there was “no magic bullet” with which to strike the complicated problem of neighborhood deterioration. He posed an array of potential remedies including more frequent inspections, landlord licensing, smarter occupancy standards and tighter parking controls.

Smyth, whose ward encompasses Illinois Street to Florida Avenue, said the issue truly hits home for him.

“I’ve literally got student-occupied apartments sitting on one side of me and single family housing on the other,” Smyth said.

Smyth said he observed an “accelerated loss of historic neighborhood” over the past five years. Signs of deterioration include neglected repairs, parking in backyards and new construction that clashes with the neighborhood aesthetic.

Increased enrollment at the University has pressed the area for more housing options, Smyth said.

Since the fall of 2000, the undergraduate population has gone up by nearly 2,000 students, according to the University’s Office of Admissions and Records. Many students are drawn to the west Urbana rentals for their proximity to campus.

Yet another factor is the financial incentive for converting single-family housing into boarding houses with five or more units, Smyth said. Currently, the city zoning ordinance limits the number of unrelated persons in a single dwelling to four.

“Landlords can make an extra $2,000 to $3,000 a year per boarder,” Smyth said. “That’s why they do it.”

The motive may not always be greed, Alderwoman Danielle Chynoweth, D-Ward 2, said. Her ward includes the Springfield Avenue and Green Street corridors, an area also heavily populated with students.

“I know homeowners that rely on boarders to be able to pay the mortgage,” Chynoweth said.

Smyth said that his proposed changes would not prevent such a homeowner from renting out to two or three non-family members. The restriction would only close loopholes he feels some landlords have abused.

“All you have to do is say you’re another tenant’s cousin, and you can get around the occupancy limit,” Smyth said.

Smyth emphasized the need to narrow the definition of family to those related by marriage, adoption or blood, no more distant than a grandparent. He based his family definition on those on the zoning books of other university towns such as Ann Arbor, Mich.

Chynoweth said that suspicions of over-occupancy prompted some of her constituents to peep into crowded houses.

“Some people feel spying is the only way to determine how many people actually live somewhere,” Chynoweth said. “But it is a serious violation of privacy.”

Rather than verify occupancy, Chynoweth recommended targeting its visible symptoms, such as excessive noise, trash and over-parking. If landlords are allowing their rentals to become nuisances, they should be fined for visits by housing inspectors or police, she said.

“But if the people aren’t causing any problems, then leave them alone,” Chynoweth said.

Chynoweth expressed her belief in the ability of students to be good neighbors when they are informed about city standards and services.

“Sometimes it’s simply that a student hasn’t been here long enough to know to put recyclables on the curb for pick up,” Chynoweth said.

She said that as awareness of neighborhood impact grows, unpleasant confrontations decrease.

“We want to prevent the scenario in which Urbana police show up at someone’s party because they woke up the whole block,” Chynoweth said.

On the subject of over-parking, the council considered different methods of deterrence. One proposal raised the cost of a permit for each additional vehicle a household parked on the street. Another restricted the pavement-to-green ratio, which is the ratio of how much property can be allotted to pavement and greenery.

“It’s important people understand that the neighborhood cannot support everyone in their household owning a car,” Smyth said.

Many council members and city administrators agreed that better enforcement of existing city ordinances could reverse deterioration as well as new ordinances.

Urbana City Planner Libby Tyler pointed out that the city employs only one housing inspector. The shortness of manpower means the inspector can get around all Urbana’s residential properties once in ten years, Tyler said.

“Right now, we are trying to get funding for another half-time inspector,” Tyler said. “But we really need more than that.”

Alderman Dennis Roberts, D-Ward 5, suggested a rental registration program that property owners would pay a nominal fee for every unit they rent. The revenue could fund the salaries of two or three more housing inspectors, he said.

Tyler agreed and added that most cities the size of Urbana or larger do that.

“It’s an anomaly that we don’t,” Tyler said.