CRP 525: Assignment 2 Mixed Housing Neighborhoods in College Towns. Case Study: Indiana Borough, Pennsylvania

Transcription

1 CRP 525: Assignment 2 Mixed Housing Neighborhoods in College Towns Case Study: Indiana Borough, Pennsylvania October 16 th, 2007 Vishwesh Viswanathan (vv52@cornell.edu)

2 Table of Contents Introduction...1 Demographic Details...1 Student Living Areas...1 University Campus within Indiana Borough limits...1 Off Campus Student Living Indiana Borough...1 White Township...1 Key Issues...2 Conflict between students and permanent residents in mixed neighborhoods...2 Issues of Management and Revenue...2 Type of Housing Available...2 Traffic and Parking...2 Interventions...3 New Residence Halls on University Campus...3 TND Overlay Zoning...3 Residential Preservation Ordinance...3 Code Enforcement...3 References...4 Annexure 1 Interview Transcripts...5 Annexure 2 Details of Relevant Census Block Groups & Maps...12

3 Introduction Indiana Borough, Pennsylvania is located 60 miles northeast of Pittsburg. It is home to the Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) and the county seat of Indiana County. The university is a public university with a total enrollment of 14,248 students in Fall Of these 11,976 were undergraduates and 2,272 were graduate and professional students. The Borough of Indiana covers an area of approximately sq. miles and is enclosed by White Township on all sides. The campus of the Indiana University of Pennsylvania begins approximately at the centre of the borough at School Street and extends towards the southwest into White Township. The east and west limits of the campus are defined by Oakland and Wayne Avenue. The main campus is within the boundaries of the Borough and the land in White Township is largely undeveloped except for the Miller Stadium (accessed from Glass Street on the Borough Boundary) and the Robertshaw building. An important project proposed in the White Township part of the campus is the Kovalchick Convention and Athletic Complex (KCAC) along Wayne Avenue. Construction on this project is slated to begin in spring Demographic Details As per the census of 2000 the total population of Indiana Borough was 14,895 persons. The median age of the population was 21.8 years. The number of residents enrolled in college or graduate school was 8,825 (59%). The total population for White Township was 14,034 with a median age of 42.7 years. The number of residents enrolled in college or graduate school was 1,129 (8%). The total student enrollment at the Indiana University of Pennsylvania for the year was 13,410 consisting of 11,735 undergraduates and 1,675 graduate students. Student Living Areas University Campus within Indiana Borough limits As per the 2000 census 3,702 persons lived on campus in group quarters (including dorms). Of the 580 housing units on campus 519 were occupied by young householders between 15 and 24 years. Off Campus Student Living Indiana Borough According to the 2000 census there were 1,419 young householders of age 15 to 24 years living outside the University Campus in Indiana Borough. Of these 1,010 were located in a horseshoe shaped area surrounding the university campus bounded by Indiana s main street - Philadelphia Street,on the North and South 5 th Street on the east. The percentage of young house holders varied from around 38 percent on the east of the campus to around 58percent in the area between the campus and Philadelphia Street. White Township Young householders are largely concentrated in the area southwest of the university campus. The student neighborhoods seem to be distributed along State Highway 286 (Oakland Ave.) between the borough boundary and Benjamin Franklin Highway. 144 young householders and 103 people lived in group housing in that area according to the 2000 census. The details of the relevant census block groups have been provided in Annexure 2 of the document

4 Key Issues Conflict between students and permanent residents in mixed neighborhoods The permanent residents of the borough have problems living alongside students due to differences in lifestyles, outlooks towards property stewardship and community living. The major issues of contention include: late hours maintained by the student, frequent and loud parties, and maintenance of properties and garbage. Other issues mentioned by residents include the lack of respect for other people s property and the fear of retribution on complaint to authorities. Issues of Management and Revenue Several years ago, the borough implemented a 400-foot rule, keeping student rentals in neighborhoods at least 400 feet apart from one another. This has led to the spreading of the student population to neighborhoods farther away from campus. Of the 943 calls for service received by the Indiana Borough Police in September 2007, 333 were university-related. During break in the month of July the number of calls for service was 685 of which 91 being university-related. A key issue is the logistics and costs of management of the student population dispersed across the borough. The costs of having students living in the borough are not adequately matched by the benefits gained from them. A concern expressed has been the erosion of the income tax base as more family dwellings get converted to student housing. Type of Housing Available Of the 4,804 occupied housing units in Indiana Borough 1,938 are occupied by young householders. Of the borough s 5096 housing units 2,569(50%) are Single Unit Detached Houses. These types of units are not designed to accommodate the needs of student living. The housing stock in Indiana Borough is largely old with 74.7% probably being built before Some of the housing units being rented to students are poorly maintained by owners and of low quality. Traffic and Parking Single Unit Detached Houses do not have adequate parking for group living. This has seen an increase in shortage of parking in these neighborhoods. Speeding is also a concern in these neighborhoods as families are concerned for the safety of children and pedestrians. There is also a shortage of parking in the University Campus itself with long waiting times reported before parking is available. Students complain that they have to get to campus as early as 7:30am to get a good parking space (Campus Parking Daily Struggle). This would have a negative impact both on traffic flow in and around the university campus and on availability of parking in the surrounding areas

5 Interventions New Residence Halls on University Campus The university has embarked on a four phase Residential Revival Project. The first phase has been completed and the second phase is expected to be completed in The project more or less maintains the existing housing stock currently available on campus but replaces existing units with suite type accommodations more suited to the current students lifestyles. The buildings will all be LEED certified green buildings. TND Overlay Zoning A Traditional Neighborhood Development Overlay Zone has been established in the horseshoe shaped area surrounding the university campus within borough limits in Fall 2006 The idea behind the Overlay Zone is that the student population is largely contained within a student-oriented neighborhood close to campus. This would make the other neighborhoods more attractive for family living and reduce conflict between students and other residents. The students would also benefit with increase proximity to the campus. The overlay zone allows a higher density. It is intended that apartments, mixed-use developments and town house type dwellings, similar in quality to the new residential halls on campus be developed here. The area is being envisaged as being more pedestrian in nature (New regulations stop the spread of student rentals in town) with students having the option of walking to campus and to downtown. Residential Preservation Ordinance The Residential Preservation Ordinance passed in August 2007 puts an end to further conversion of Family Dwellings into student housing in R1 and R2 Zones of the borough. The ordinance does not apply housing units currently being rented to students in these areas. Vacant student housing units in these areas will revert to residential status if they remain unoccupied for nine months. The ordinance also establishes criteria to clearly define the functional families allowed rent in these residential areas. Both the TND Overlay Zoning and the Residential preservation ordinance are relatively recent. While there have been expressions of interest for development in the TND Overlay Zone and some reconversion of student units to family units in the R1 and R2 zones the impact of these will only be felt over a longer period of time. The new regulations do not negatively impact business as most of them are located in the commercial area downtown or within the TND Overlay Zone where they are allowed to operate. Code Enforcement The borough employs three inspectors who are responsible for code enforcement. They usually find a few code violations everyday. Anyone violating a zoning code is fined $500 a day for everyday the violation exists

6 References Police Stats, Indiana Gazette Online, August 14, 2007, Police Stats, Indiana Gazette Online, October 04, 2007, Profile of General Demographic Characteristics, County: Indiana, Municipality: Indiana Borough, Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission, Profile of General Demographic Characteristics, County: Indiana, Municipality: White Township, Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission, Second 'Park and Ride' bus added to IUP route, Indiana Gazette Online, September 25, 2007, American FactFinder, Bernard, Holly. Campus parking a daily struggle, The Penn, September 25,2007, Harper, Margaret. Plans for KCAC move forward at IUP, Indiana Gazette Online, September 15, 200, Kirk, Dave. Director, Department of Planning and Code Enforcement, Indiana Borough, Telephone Interview on October 03, 2007 Parker, Rachael. New regulations stop the spread of student rentals in town, The Penn, August 27,2007, Raykes, Jeff. Senor Planner, Indiana County Office of Planning and Development, Telephone Interview on October 01, 2007 Reeger, Jennifer. Indiana may prevent single-family homes converting into student rentals Pittsburg Tribune- Review, June 24,200, Website of the Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Wells, Randy. Council studying student migration, Indiana Gazette Online, April 02, 2006, Wells, Randy. Neighborhood preservation ordinance advances, Indiana Gazette Online, June 06, 2007, Wells, Randy. New housing rules OK'd, Indiana Gazette Online, August 08, 2007, Wells, Randy. Ordinance may bar 'non-families', Indiana Gazette Online, May 23, 2007, Wells, Randy. Student rental limits in Indiana worry real estate agents, Indiana Gazette Online, June 27, 2007, Zbur, Rebecca. IUP Police chief addresses parking issues, The Penn, April 22,2002,

7 Annexure 1 Interview Transcripts 1. Kirk, Dave. Director, Department of Planning and Code Enforcement, Indiana Borough, Telephone Interview on October 03, Raykes, Jeff. Senor Planner, Indiana County Office of Planning and Development, Telephone Interview on October 01,

8 Questions to ask local informants about student neighborhoods CRP 525, Fall 2007 Final: September 29, 2007 Date of interview: October 03, 2007 Name of interviewer: Vishwesh Viswanathan Name of respondent: Dave Kirk Title of respondent: Director, Department of Planning and Code Enforcement Jurisdiction and state of respondent: Indiana Borough Respondent phone number: Respondent address: I am working on a project for the City of Ithaca, New York. Ithaca s City Planning department is looking for information from other local governments in the Northeast about how they have responded to issues in their collegetown neighborhoods. Our research team will be developing a report for the City summarizing information from over 25 jurisdictions, including yours, and we will be happy to make it available to you when it is complete. The first few questions are about the issues or problems that have come up in and around your college student neighborhoods. 1. What problems, if any, have you had in the last year or so in or around your main student neighborhoods? (Open-ended response.) There is a conflict between students lifestyle and permanent residents lifestyle. Key issues are noise, more frequent and larger parties; alcohol, noise, speeding, late hours maintenance of property. 2. How many of your off-campus student neighborhoods are immediately adjacent to (share an edge with) a neighborhood consisting mainly of families? University is located at the South Centre of the Borough extending up to its southern boundary (7 Blocks). 14,000 students approximately of which 8,500 live off campus in neighborhoods around the university For the rest of the questions in this part, please tell me how serious each of these issues is now in and around your most seriously problematic student neighborhoods. Answer 1 for not a problem, 2 for minor problem, 3 for important problem, and 4 for critical problem. Students do not indulge in extreme crime. Crime is of the minor kind but most cases are due to students No Problem Problem Minor Important Critical 3. Shortage of parking in the neighborhood Parking shortage for residents of nearby neighborhoods Garbage or litter (choose the best answer) Poor property maintenance and upkeep Large parties, noise, or other disturbance

9 8. Have college students recently been moving into family neighborhoods? No. go on to question 10. Yes, but it is not a problem. Yes, and it is a moderate problem (on a few blocks, for example). X Yes, and it is a serious problem (displacing large numbers of families, for example). 9. (Only if answer to (8) is yes): Have college students parents been purchasing homes off campus so that their children can live in family neighborhoods? No. X Yes. People have been buying houses as investments and renting them out to students. 10. If you had to pick the single most important issue right now among these, or any other, what would it be? The second part of the survey is about what your jurisdiction has done to respond to the issues in college student neighborhoods. 11. Do you have a local comprehensive plan? No go on to question 13. Yes. 12. (if answer to question 11 is yes): Does the comprehensive plan establish policies and strategies for maximizing the advantages and/or minimizing the problems that come from college student neighborhoods? No. Yes Please tell me how I can receive a copy of relevant sections: 13. Do your local decision-makers have preferences about the location of college student neighborhoods? Please include either adopted policies or informal agreements, and respond only for students living outside dormitories. No. X Yes, we try to contain college students in a limited number of neighborhoods. Yes, we try to encourage college students who do not live in dormitories to disperse as much as possible throughout our jurisdiction. Yes, other preferences about the geographic location of college student neighborhoods: 14. Which of the following measures has your jurisdiction used to prevent or combat problems in student neighborhoods or at their edges, and, for those used, how effective have they been at combating problems? a. Zoning ordinance restrictions on density b. Zoning ordinance restrictions on unrelated individuals sharing living quarters c. Conditions imposed with use permit or development permit d. Housing code enforcement e. Noise ordinance enforcement f. Open alcoholic container restriction enforcement g. Residential parking permits h. Parking meters Not used Used, not effective Used, somewhat effective Used, highly effective - 7 -

10 i. Increased parking enforcement j. Public or private construction of parking structures or lots k. Measures to encourage non-automotive travel l. Traffic-calming measures m. Community-building (committees, partnerships including students, university, neighborhood, local government) 15. What other measures have you used to manage the quality of life in and around student neighborhoods, and how effective have they been? 1. Student and Family living are incompatible need to separate and make contained 2. Redefining the definition of a family unit to exclude unrelated people who do not share groceries, bank accounts, cars etc. 3. No student living in R1 and R2 zones. Residential Preservation Ordinance only functional families allowed. Has acted as a disincentive for people to but property as investment in residential areas for families. 4. Existing student houses in R1 and R2 Zones to revert to family housing if unoccupied for 9 months. Some houses have reverted from student housing to family dwellings 5. Overlay zone of 20+ Acres for student living has been established around campus. This allows higher densities for student housing apartments, town houses, and mixed use envisioned. 6. Using incentives to stimulate investment in Overlay Zone for student housing 7. Students will not move to White Township located on southern edge of University Campus due to Zoning Ordinance as it does not impact existing student dwellings, There is a vacant parcel of University land that buffers White Township. While there is some student living in White Township it will not grow as the township does not encourage it. On the other hand Indiana Borough wants students to live in it as they are important part of the economy therefore the borough is encourages student living. 8. No joint planning with White Township 16. If you had to pick the most effective and important three strategies for dealing with your most problematic issues around college-student neighborhoods, what would they be? Now I have just a couple more questions. 17. How long have you lived or worked in (jurisdiction name)? 18. Is there anyone else in the city, the higher education institutions, or the community you would recommend I speak to about these issues if we follow up with additional interviews? Thank you very much for spending time to answer these questions

11 Questions to ask local informants about student neighborhoods CRP 525, Fall 2007 Final: September 29, 2007 Date of interview: October 01, 2007 Name of interviewer: Vishwesh Viswanathan Name of respondent: Jeff Raykes Title of respondent: Senior Planner Jurisdiction and state of respondent: Indiana County - Office of Planning and Development Respondent phone number: Respondent address: I am working on a project for the City of Ithaca, New York. Ithaca s City Planning department is looking for information from other local governments in the Northeast about how they have responded to issues in their collegetown neighborhoods. Our research team will be developing a report for the City summarizing information from over 25 jurisdictions, including yours, and we will be happy to make it available to you when it is complete. The first few questions are about the issues or problems that have come up in and around your college student neighborhoods. 1. What problems, if any, have you had in the last year or so in or around your main student neighborhoods? (Open-ended response.) While universities do bring benefits to a town, sometimes the costs of monitoring significantly diminish the benefits. University needs to pay to offset monitoring costs. Ex. Penn State: Fees in some form (not direct an indirect revenue) is used to fund code monitoring. 2. How many of your off-campus student neighborhoods are immediately adjacent to (share an edge with) a neighborhood consisting mainly of families? For the rest of the questions in this part, please tell me how serious each of these issues is now in and around your most seriously problematic student neighborhoods. Answer 1 for not a problem, 2 for minor problem, 3 for important problem, and 4 for critical problem. No Problem Problem Minor Important Critical 3. Shortage of parking in the neighborhood Parking shortage for residents of nearby neighborhoods Garbage or litter (choose the best answer) Poor property maintenance and upkeep Large parties, noise, or other disturbance Have college students recently been moving into family neighborhoods? No. go on to question 10. Yes, but it is not a problem. Yes, and it is a moderate problem (on a few blocks, for example). X Yes, and it is a serious problem (displacing large numbers of families, for example)

12 9. (Only if answer to (8) is yes): Have college students parents been purchasing homes off campus so that their children can live in family neighborhoods? No. Yes. 10. If you had to pick the single most important issue right now among these, or any other, what would it be? The second part of the survey is about what your jurisdiction has done to respond to the issues in college student neighborhoods. 11. Do you have a local comprehensive plan? Both the city and county are in the process of preparing a plan X No go on to question 13. Yes. 12. (if answer to question 11 is yes): Does the comprehensive plan establish policies and strategies for maximizing the advantages and/or minimizing the problems that come from college student neighborhoods? No. Yes Please tell me how I can receive a copy of relevant sections: 13. Do your local decision-makers have preferences about the location of college student neighborhoods? Please include either adopted policies or informal agreements, and respond only for students living outside dormitories. Students not a protected class and have been restricted to an area around campus. No. X Yes, we try to contain college students in a limited number of neighborhoods. Yes, we try to encourage college students who do not live in dormitories to disperse as much as possible throughout our jurisdiction. Yes, other preferences about the geographic location of college student neighborhoods: 14. Which of the following measures has your jurisdiction used to prevent or combat problems in student neighborhoods or at their edges, and, for those used, how effective have they been at combating problems? a. Zoning ordinance restrictions on density b. Zoning ordinance restrictions on unrelated individuals sharing living quarters c. Conditions imposed with use permit or development permit d. Housing code enforcement e. Noise ordinance enforcement f. Open alcoholic container restriction enforcement g. Residential parking permits h. Parking meters i. Increased parking enforcement j. Public or private construction of parking Not used Used, not effective Used, somewhat effective Used, highly effective

13 structures or lots k. Measures to encourage non-automotive travel l. Traffic-calming measures m. Community-building (committees, partnerships including students, university, neighborhood, local government) 15. What other measures have you used to manage the quality of life in and around student neighborhoods, and how effective have they been? A recent zoning ordinance does the following: 1. Redefines what a family unit is 2. Disallows student living in R1 and R2 Zones 3. An overlay zone of higher density has been demarcated around the campus for student living. This shall contain apartments and mixed use. 4. The new ordinance does not have an impact on business as most of the businesses that students use are located downtown. The others such as the grocery store fall in the overlay zone. 16. If you had to pick the most effective and important three strategies for dealing with your most problematic issues around college-student neighborhoods, what would they be? Now I have just a couple more questions. 17. How long have you lived or worked in Indiana (jurisdiction name)? 18. Is there anyone else in the city, the higher education institutions, or the community you would recommend I speak to about these issues if we follow up with additional interviews? Dave Kirk at the Borough Planning Office 19. What is the relationship between the Borough Administration and the University? 1. University is replacing existing dorms 2. Is now more interested and involved with the community and need for partnership 3. The city is important to the university as the quality of life it offers, safety etc be come selling points while marketing the university. 4. University is a Dominant force in the town. Thank you very much for spending time to answer these questions

14 Annexure 2 Details of Relevant Census Block Groups & Maps 1. Table 1 - Summary of Data for relevant Block groups in Indiana Borough and White Township 2. Fig.1 Percentage of Household Renters, Indiana County PA, Fig.1A Percentage of Household Renters, Indiana Borough PA, Fig.2 Percentage of Householders between 15 and 24 years Old, Indiana County PA, Fig 2A Percentage of Householders between 15 and 24 years Old, Indiana Borough PA, Fig 2B Number of Householders between 15 and 24 years Old, Indiana Borough PA, Fig.3 Percent of Population in College Dorms, Indiana County PA, Fig 3A Percent of Population in College Dorms, Indiana Borough PA, Fig.4 Population in College Dorms, Indiana County PA, Fig 4A Population in College Dorms, Indiana Borough PA, Fig 5 Aerial Photograph of Indiana Borough 12. Fig 6 Block Groups labeled with Geo_ID2, Indiana Borough PA,