Towson University Cracking Down on Housing Code Violations

I've just finished reading the latest article, in The Towerlight, Towson University's campus newspaper, on the stand that Towson University has taken on the housing code violations of their students that live in off-campus housing. To tell you the truth if a bull has two horns, then T.U. needs to take both horns in hand.

Here's the article:
http://media.www.thetowerlight.com/media/storage/paper957/news/2007/09/17/News/Baltimore.County.Cracks.Down.On.Housing.Code.Violators-2970685.shtml?reffeature=htmlemailedition

This decisions stems from many communities that have houses full of students that live in the neighborhoods that do more partying then studying. Many of the neighbors have to contend with students that rent houses in their neighborhoods and pack in as many students as possible to meet the expenses. The neighbors also have to contend with loud music, over crowded street parking, trash and beer bottles left on neighbors lawns and many of the students seems to think that they are dogs left to run the neighborhoods to urinate on the neighbors properties.

In the Tower Light article these houses are referred to as "nuisance houses". They have been more than a nuisance to the surrounding communities for years. Jana Varwig, T.U.'s Assoc. V.P. of Student Affairs seems to think that in general, most of Towson's residents are accepting of T.U. students and sees that most of the complaints have been about noise violations, not housing code violations. How old is the file that she has been going over? Has she gone back on the many articles that have been written in Towson's local papers like the Towson Times? Has she heard of Baltimore County's Rental Housing License Pilot program? Does she have a clue about the problem at Kennilworth Park at Charles apartment complex?

The housing code of Baltimore County, as how it relates to the housing code violations, is stated in this manner, " ...unless a structure is zoned as a "boarding or rooming house" no more than two unrelated individuals may reside in that home." A home in this definition refers to a single, detached family home. The housing code goes onto say that motels, hotels and apartment complexes are exempt.

Now in my mind, I wonder if two individuals that live in a single, detached family home are any different than two individuals that live in an apartment complex? This just isn't a matter of students packing it in like a bunch of clowns in a car at a circus, but this poses a greater problem. How does this not potentially, become a fire tragedy? Do individuals burn any differently in a single family home than they do in an apartment complex? Kennilworth at Charles Apartments, in the Riderwood Hills community, have long had to contend with the owners, Continental Realty Corp., from packing the students into their apartmant complex. More bodies, more profit for the owners. I would hate to think that in the case of the Baltimore County Fire Department more bodies would mean more charred remains that would have to be identified from a fire that trapped the students in the apartment because there were too many in that apartment.

It seems that Vince Gardina, 5th District coucilman for Towson, is backing Continental Realty. He defends the fact that there is no law limiting how many unrelated individuals can occupy a single apartment unit. 42nd District Del., Susan Aumann sees it differently. She is proposing a state bill that would regulate apartment occupancy in Towson.

With the planning of 5 different high-rise apartment complexes that are in different stages of development in Towson, not only does Towson hold their collective breath on the outcome of this bill, but the neighbors of Riderwood Hills as well. A fire in an apartment complex is horrifying enough, but can you even imagine the devastation in a high-rise that a fire would cause? The Baltimore County Fire Dept. is not equipped to handle fire rescues in a 15 story high-rise. They do not have hook and ladders that reach up past a certain floor level. Anyone remember the fire of the high-rise apartment building in Baltimore City at Two Charles Center? The hook and ladders only reached up to the 6 or 7 floors. The fire had started on the 16th floor.

Baltimore County Exec. James Smith, Vince Gardina and Jana Varwig need to sit back and take a look at the bigger picture here. Is it worth quibbling over noise violations or housing code violations? Is it worth defining the difference on whether or not a structure is a boarding or rooming house or a single family dwelling? How does it make any difference whether or not they were related or un-related individuals when over crowded housing catches on fire?

I would hope that Baltimore County and Towson University could raise a glass in a toast to the better resolution of this problem and not a silent memorial to those that were toasted.