Aurora residents fight the college town that seems to be popping up

Aurora resident Ronald Anderson recently got his property tax assessment lowered by 25 percent, but he's not necessarily happy about it.

The 31-year resident of the 100 block of South Buell Avenue said he contested his most recent appraisal because he believes the neighborhood he once loved has been decimated by a rapid increase of houses being rented to students attending nearby Aurora University.

"The house across me has had 15 occupants in less than four years and the partying is unbelievable. It's mostly underage students who can't drink on campus but I can tell you they go through two kegs a week over here," Anderson said. "Living in this neighborhood we loved has really turned into nothing but a headache and a problem."

He's learned that police breaking up weekend parties is part of life in a university town and he's gotten by "mostly ignoring the strange college kids."

But the "for sale" sign was nearly posted last summer after he discovered his new neighbors "(urinating) all over my car."

One block west of Anderson on Western Avenue, Sue Gouldsberry and her husband, Druce, have had similar issues with rental units on their block.

As recently as two weekends ago, she said, police broke up a party "of at least 80 people" two doors down from her. Police were called because of the noise and because of the more than 50 cars reportedly parked on the street.

"I know this makes me sound like the Gladys Kravitz of the neighborhood, but I don't want that in my neighborhood when spring and summer comes along and I want to open my windows or sit outside," she said. "I don't live in a neighborhood like that. I've got a master's from AU, so I've gone to college, but we partied on campus where we belonged."

Anderson said he has tried over the years to talk to some of the landlords about property upkeep as well, believing the rental properties are often not maintained as well as owner-occupied homes.

"One confrontation got very nasty very fast and we haven't talked for years," he said. "Nobody wants to be told what to do with their property but some of these properties are a mess."

Despite resident concerns, however, neither police nor neighborhood standards officials believe the rental units are a major issue.

Cmdr. Dan Hoffman, whose jurisdiction includes the university and surrounding environs, said "problem areas" around the college are rarely discussed during twice-monthly beat meetings.

"We've certainly attended parties and documented other instances of intoxication or noise," Hoffman said. "But rarely do we have to deal with repeat occurrences once we deal with them a first time."

University spokeswoman Barb Wilcox said campus security officers also work with police to limit repeat offenses.

"We do our part to intervene when students are involved and educate them about the standards we expect when they are representing the university," Wilcox said. "We want them modeling good behavior because the university wants to be a good neighbor,"

Director of Neighborhood Standards Rosario DeLeon said the city also expects the landlords to be good neighbors by maintaining homes and yards for the integrity of the entire neighborhood. A majority of them, he said, are good landlords in that respect.

"I don't know if I could tell, just by looking at them, which homes were owner-occupied and which are rented to students," he said. "It would be unfair to say we have more property maintenance issues there than anywhere else in the city."

That's exactly the scenario city officials strive for. Alderman Rick Lawrence, whose Fourth Ward includes the university, has asked the city's planning and development committee to consider creating an overlay district to control the number of "boardinghouses" or "rooming houses" allowed in the city.

Assistant Director of Neighborhood Standards Mark Anderson said the city's current ordinances only require a home have a certain number of square feet per person living there.

"We need to create a distinct license and standard for those properties to protect the surrounding neighbors," Lawrence said. "I believe there should be a higher standard of exterior requirements in landscaping and overall condition of the home to offer a benefit to the neighborhood for allowing such housing."

DeLeon said the city's recent adoption of crime-free housing ordinances cover many of Lawrence's concerns. Requiring higher standards in certain areas, however, would be illegal, he said.

"The most important issue we need to accomplish is to limit the number of licenses available in this district," Lawrence said. "With home prices at an all-time low, these investments become very attractive for an investor due to the amount of income each one of these homes can produce."

Eight Ward Alderman Rick Mervine, who sits on the planning committee, anticipated some action may be taken but said Lawrence would have to push any initiatives in his ward.

"I remember college and I remember that there was a portion of the student population that lived in general residential housing," Mervine said. "Given that knowledge, I don't doubt that there is a potential for a serious problem there. And we don't want any residents faced with those problems."