Neighbors debate student housing, parking

By Jack Gillum

Students are living in poorly maintained housing and do not have enough places to park on campus, neighborhood activists told a city panel Monday evening.

Concerns over maintenance problems in rental properties and housing prices topped the list of complaints at the academic year's second Neighborhood University Relations Committee meeting, a forum comprised of city officials to hear grievances among surrounding neighbors and Santa Clara students.

Housing has been a focus lately as the university expands and students move off-campus. While university officials have said they want to house the majority of undergraduates in Residential Learning Communities, that demand, critics say, has been slowly met with new or refurbished buildings.

The university can house 2,294 undergraduates on campus, says Jane Barrantes, the university's auxiliary services director. Santa Clara, she says, has added 551 beds over the past five years, and says there is some space available to meet current demands.

Neighbors at the meeting complained that some properties scattered around the university area were in need of repair, from leaky roofs to broken windows. No tenants of those houses, however, spoke at Monday's meeting.

One dispute-resolution agency, Project Sentinel, said that students can contact them for questions or problems relating to rent increases, evictions and even roommate problems at (408) 720-9888. The program is free.

Student tenants are different from long-term leasers, says Project Sentinel's Martin Eichner, because they are concerned with more short-term concerns, like deposits, which account for the majority of student complaints to his office.

Eichner said he has no data that show if the number of complaints are increasing or decreasing in the area.

Several nearby residents had also voiced concerns that a lack of convenient parking for students on campus has put more cars in the neighborhood and in front of their houses. Campus Safety Director Charlie Arolla says that the campus has about 2,800 spots, with about 550 reserved for campus residents. Starting this year, however, freshmen are prohibited from parking on campus.

One neighbor, John Baptista, was so concerned with the numbers of students moving off campus and cramming into houses that the quality of the neighborhood will deteriorate and will run current residents "out of town."

During a neighborhood report, one neighbor proposed students' ID cards should brandish their birthdays to curb underage drinking.

However, Jeanne Rosenberger, dean for student life, seemed skeptical and said she wasn't sure if students always carried their Access cards with them.

The hour-long forum lasted for over an hour Monday evening in the Casa Italiana commons. The next meeting is scheduled for May 2 in the city council chambers, 1500 Warburton Ave.

* Contact Jack Gillum at (408) 554-4849 or jgillum@scu.edu.