Before J.B. Pullias, a psychology junior, received a letter stating that he and his roommates were called to a hearing to decide whether they could live in their house, he had no idea they were violating the law.
“I can’t believe those people would go that far,” Pullias said when he realized his neighbors had reported the roommates for a zoning violation.
Student Government President Michelle Gieg, District 12 Councilman Mickey Skyring and Zoning Enforcement Chief Neal Bezet want to see that situations like Pullias’ does not happen again.
Through informational campaigns, the officials hope to educate students about single-family zoning — meaning no more than two unrelated people can live in a rented house together.
University business school Professor Brent Beal owns the house Pullias and his three roommates rent.
In a University Hills Civic Association meeting Sunday, the association discussed their problems with Beal’s tenants.
Alan Carey, a past president of the association, called the situation “a long, drawn-out affair,” and said the University Hills residents have several issues with the tenants.
“They make noise, they’re up all night, their cars block the street,” Carey said.
Carey said though he and other neighbors have talked to Beal about persistent disturbances, he thinks all houses in violation of the single-family ordinance should be held responsible.
“This issue is a legal one,” Carey said.
Pullias; Justin Campbell, an agricultural business junior; Matt Manard, a general studies junior and Tyler Ball, a pre-business administration sophomore, all live in the house on Delgado Drive.
Pullias said he does not believe the situation in University Hills was handled well.
“It’s hard to be college students living in a neighborhood like this,” Pullias said.
Pullias said his landlord never told him it was illegal for four unrelated people to live in a house together.
He said the neighbors who reported the roommates have never complained to him personally but have discussed the problems with each other at meetings.
The four students have known the neighborhood was unhappy with them since they moved in last July, but they did not know they were planning to take legal action until they were notified about a hearing with the city on May 26, Pullias said.
“They will probably get us kicked out,” Pullias said. “I can’t believe they’re making us deal with this during finals.”
Pullias said he thinks the neighbors have exaggerated their complaints.
“I don’t know why people would live in a neighborhood so close to campus if they didn’t want to live with college students,” Pullias said.
Though neighbors have claimed the roommates have too many late-night parties, Pullias said it only looks that way because of limited parking.
“All four of us have cars,” Pullias said. “If two of us have two friends over, it looks like a party, when we’re probably all upstairs playing Xbox.”
Gieg said she began a program to address these problems last semester, when she was the director of Governmental Relations for SG.
Gieg decided to launch an informational campaign for students living in off-campus houses, but there was not enough time to implement this plan last semester, she said.
Gieg said SG will launch the campaign this summer to tell students what the zoning laws are and what to do if a neighbor files a complaint against them.
“We want to make sure students and residents are happy,” Gieg said.
SG officials have monthly meetings with Mickey Skyring, councilman for District 12, which stretches down Highland Road from the campus gates to Bluebonnet Boulevard.
Gieg and other SG officials will work with the chancellor’s office and Skyring to form an action plan, she said.
Skyring said he believes students should be held responsible if they are in violation of the law, and he is asking for more staff to address these violations.
Neal Bezet, zoning enforcement chief for East Baton Rouge Parish, personally handles all ordinance violations.
Bezet said he has received three times as many complaints about ordinance violations this year than in previous years.
Not all of these complaints are about college students, but a vast majority are, Bezet said.
He said the reason he has received more calls may be that zoning regulations are posted on the Internet and are now more accessible.
When someone calls in to complain that neighbors are violating a zoning law, the owner of the property has 30 days to submit a notarized statement to Bezet saying there are only two unrelated people living there, Bezet said.
If they do not respond in 30 days, assistant parish attorney Lea Ann Batson sends a letter to the owner, repeating the same request. If the owner still does not respond, he or she is taken to court.
Skyring said he thinks “a distinct minority” of unruly students living in houses gives other off-campus residents a bad reputation.
The violators may not all be college students, Skyring said. They are young people who have late-night parties and speed through neighborhoods.
Skyring said he thought college students were “unfortunately targeted” in these situations.
Skyring said relations between students and their neighbors is “a huge problem,” — and no one knows the answer.
Celeste Broussard, a recent University MBA graduate who lives across the street from Ashton Laborde, a general studies senior, and his two friends, said Laborde’s unkept property is an eyesore.
Her neighbors have not made an effort to ensure they do not bother her, Broussard said.
The men living in the house left a dead tree in their front yard until it fell across the street, damaging Broussard’s property and knocking down her power lines, Broussard said.
The house is currently littered with portions of the chopped-up tree.
Laborde owns the house and lives with two other students.
Laborde said he has lived in the house for four years, and Broussard has never complained to him.
He also said the fallen tree was not on his property — it was on city property and that it was the city’s responsibility to remove it.
Laborde said he thinks neighbors who complain are targeting college students.
Other residents who are not students do not maintain their yards, but they are left alone, Laborde said.
Though neighbors have complained about college students speeding through the neighborhood, Laborde said he actually drives below the speed limit in University Hills.
“There are kids everywhere,” Laborde said.