NEWS
Thursday, October 19, 2006
The University Star - Page 3
ZONING: Potential buyers not required PHONES: Market remaining competitive with package deals to be notified of codes CONTINUED from page 1
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is complete, the rezoning process usually takes several months and a series of steps. Kenneth Bell is one of four city marshals in San Marcos whose job is to enforce city codes, including those dealing with junk vehicles, single-family zoning, land development and building codes. And although he would not speak specifically on Mounce’s case, he said the unit has 57 active cases regarding multiple persons living in single-family zoning districts. This number is up from the 27 grievances filed in the spring, which resulted in only two fines being issued. He said not all were students; some turned out to be very large families. Bell said one of the main problems regarding more than two unrelated people living under a single roof is that the number of people visiting increases. “If they have friends and you have friends, and you both have friends over at one time, you just doubled the amount of people that may come to visit,” Bell said. “Usually in the instance of a single family, they have one set of friends.” Bell said the unit runs into very few cases where they are called out to a residence and people are minding their own business. He said there is usually a reason why grievances are filed and his job is to follow up on complaints, which are usually called in by neighbors. In the instance of a single-family zoning violation, he said all parties, tenants and landlords are notified. He praised the recent introduction of Texas State’s Good Neighbor Program as a “new evolution” in the university’s effort to educate its students and the public. The program provides Texas State students with tools to help them become or continue to be “good neighbors” and “good citizens in the community,” including information on the city’s zoning codes, moving tips and ways students can get to know their neighbors. Bell said the city marshals hope to make presentations regarding city codes and zoning to freshman classes in the future, because educating the public is one of his office’s main goals. “I think it’s a really good step in the right direction, bridging some gaps for the different types of people living in San Marcos,” he said. “A lot of folks travel through the community for a limited time and don’t really get to know the city and its codes and this is a good opportunity.” Joanne Smith, vice president for Student Affairs, said although she did not know all the details regarding Mounce’s recent move, she had heard about it. She said programs like Texas
David Racino/Star photo HEADING OUT: Monique Mounce (left) and Joseph Michelbook carry a couch around Mounce’s house from which she moved out of because of the city’s zoning restrictions.
State’s Good Neighbor Program would help resolve the confusion in situations like this. “My goal with this program is that we get a bond between the citizens and the students so that everyone enjoys living together,” she said. “In my neighborhood we all know each other, and we all watch out for each other and that’s what I hope happens in this community.” The single-family zoning ordinance has been on the books for more than 22 years, yet in the past few years, has become a hot-button issue. Many groups are pointing fingers at one another, trying to resolve the issue. Camille Phillips, president of the Council of Neighborhoods Associations, said the purpose of city zoning is to put “all like things together, like big factories in one place and neighborhoods in another” and to protect them. She said single-family zoning laws protect the quality of life, safety and property value of single-family neighborhoods. “Neighborhoods are an investment; plenty of people who move in them are planning to make their homes there and stay for years, and if a young couple moves in they may want to begin their families and raise their kids,” Phillips said. This is the reason Phillips said she works to make sure the zoning ordinance is maintained. She attributed a lot of the problems between students and their neighbors to a “generational issue.” She understands there are parents looking to save money who will purchase a home for their students to use while they are in college. She said one reason the single-family ordinance is not being followed is that not all members of the San Marcos Area Board of Realtors are notifying their customers about the single-family zoning ordinance.
Roger Cosio, vice president for the San Marcos Area Board of Realtors, said enforcement of the single-family zoning ordinance is not in their jurisdiction, especially after they have sold the property. “This ordinance has a lot to do with personal property rights and a lot of people in the state of Texas don’t want to be told what they can or can’t do with their property,” he said. Cosio said notifying potential property buyers of city codes that may affect the use of property is in the board’s code of ethics and is highly urged but not required. Cosio said when a realtor is found to be in violation of the code of ethics, meaning they did not notify their buyer of the zoning or blatantly disregarded the zoning codes, a complaint could be made to the local or state boards. However, he said no complaints have been filed this year. “The Board of Realtors is responsible for their members, but not the entire market,” he said. He said the organization is willing to work with the city and university to alleviate all single-family zoning concerns, but said he felt the city should focus more on nuisance problems. City council member John Thomaides said 75 percent of housing in San Marcos is multi-family zoning and only 25 percent is predominantly single-family. He said it’s a “community effort” to make sure everyone understands zoning ordinances. He said violators are not just students. “That’s why I have high hopes in the Good Neighbor Program,” Thomaides said. “As for the city council, I think we are headed in that direction. We are asking our committee groups and staff to bring us something that can be embraced by tenants, property managers and citizens.”
COUNCIL: Construction to alleviate downtown traffic CONTINUED from page 1
sidewalks near and around the intersection of Hopkins Street and the San Marcos River. Richard Mendoza, city of San Marcos director of public works, said the Hopkins Street phase one project will extend sidewalks by the San Marcos Activity Center, along Hopkins Street, and will create a pedestrian bridge over the San Marcos River. Janice Hendrix, CDBG technician, recommended that the council pull additional funding needed for the project from the Staples Road Sidewalk Project, another CDBG project. Mendoza said the Staples Road sidewalk project includes three smaller projects. One portion of the project, he said, includes a stretch of sidewalk leading to Bowie Elementary School. “Staples Road sidewalk project goes from Staples Road and Tampico to Bowie Elementary, about 900 feet long
and involves many driveway and mailbox improvements,” Mendoza said. Councilman John Diaz said the Staples Road project is more important than the Hopkins Street project and funding should be found elsewhere. “My concern is that the Staples Road project, because of the children walking to school, is more important that the Hopkins Street project,” Diaz said. “I would rather go forward with the Staples Road project than the Hopkins Street project.” Councilman Daniel Guerrero echoed the same concern for preserving the Staples Road sidewalk project. “We have the burden of ensuring the safety of those children trying to get to school,” Guerrero said. After a short discussion, the council directed staff to determine if funding for the CDBG projects could be pulled from other city project sources. All phases of the Hopkins Street side-
walk project, including the pedestrian bridge, are scheduled for completion by July 31, 2007. The council also adopted an ordinance on emergency to increase monthly residential city utility fees for the use of Green Guy Recycling Service’s dropoff Recycling Center. The fee was increased from $.52 to $.55, based on a request from Green Guy. In a letter to the city of San Marcos, Kelsy Hahn, Green Guy operations manager, cited an increase in business costs related to fuel expenditures and the Consumer Price Index as the sole reasoning for the increase. “This year we have handled over four million pounds of waste material for recycling, and we handled five million pounds of waste material in 2005,” Hahn said. “This is all material that would normally be dumped (into landfills) or burned.”
and cultural developments are driving the acceptance of cell phones in our society,” Bass said. Meghan Cassiday, biology senior, is a cell phone technician for Verizon Wireless in San Marcos. “I think college students use (cell phones) more than anybody,” Cassiday said. “They are more apt to use technology and are really attracted to all the features they offer, like MP3 players, cameras and texting keyboards.” As mobile phone use becomes more dominant in communication and landline use dwindles, phone service companies are trying to remain competitive in the market. Central Texas companies CenturyTel, Time Warner and Grande Communications have appealed to the customer’s sense of value by offering bundle packages. The packages provide high-speed internet, cable television and land-line phone service at flat monthly rates. Prices for bundles incorporating phone, cable television and Internet service range from roughly $100 to $130, whereas packages involving only local and long distance phone service range from $35 to $40. “We are bundling our services to provide value,” Bass said. “The best tool is to promote not only voice communication but high-speed Internet and digital television.” John Navarrette, CenturyTel general manager for San Marcos, said the bundles created in the industry are a direct result of cell phones reducing the attractiveness of landlines. “Everybody is now trying to be a one-stop-shop for wireless, video, cable, local and long distance services,” Na-
varrette said. Roger Heaney, director of public affairs for Time Warner, said there are advantages to landline phone service that cell phones cannot offer. “There is a lot to be said about having a visible, physical phone in your home,” Heaney said. “Another advantage is a security service police and emergency personnel use to pinpoint location through a landline phone.” Heaney, Navarrette and Bass all said landline phone service is still vital to the college community and subscriptions peak during certain times of the year. “Any time there is an influx of students, such as during the beginning of a fall semester, we see a huge jump in subscribers,” Heaney said. Navarrette agreed. “Typically every fall, from July to October, we see a spike in demand, which is typical for any college town,” he said. Even with these packages, many college students still remain swayed by accessibility and budgeting issues as they choose their mobile phones instead of landlines. “At this time in my life, I just don’t need a landline,” said Brandon Landry, political science senior. “Just because that service is offered to me does not convince me to buy their package. I get high-speed Internet and cable TV for a good price elsewhere.” However, traditional landline communications companies remain confident that technological innovations, such as wireless technology, will keep them competitive in the future. “The telecommunications business is extremely important in the consumer marketplace,” Bass said. “It would behoove us to satisfy the mobile concern in the future.”
NEIGHBOR: SMPD issues citations case-by-case CONTINUED from page 1
much everyone knows the rules for living on-campus, but when they move off-campus, sometimes people don’t think about all the rules that govern not just students’ actions, but all people who live in the city.” Smith said that during the last couple of years, her office has heard complaints from neighbors about noise, parties and too many unrelated people living together. She said these situations often cause students stress, concern and possible legal implications if they are dealing with city police. She said these types of situations affect students’ “quality of life” and are proof that the Good Neighbor Program is warranted in San Marcos. “We just want to let students know we are trying to encourage them and their neighbors to talk to each other,” Smith said. One of the main goals of the Good Neighbor Program is the centralization of complaints, aided by the Community Alert Web site, which was launched this week. The Web site asks for the name and contact information of the person voicing the complaint, the type of complaint and the steps a neighbor has taken to resolve the issue. Once that is filled out, the alert can be saved and more information regarding the students involved may be added. Depending on the severity of an issue, Smith said, when a firsttime concern is received, her office will send the students a letter. Terence Parker, assistant director of the LBJ Student Center, oversees the Off Campus Student Services office. He said the office has received 10 to 15 phone calls and e-mails from neighbors complaining about students since the implementation of the Good Neighbor Program. Off Campus Student Services, working in collaboration with the Good Neighbor Program, offers an off-
campus survival guide that gives tips on moving, signing a lease and choosing a good roommate. The OCSS Web site provides a link to the city’s student homepage, where students can access the single-family zoning ordinance. Parker said it’s a “two-way street” between students and their neighbors. “As a university, we are trying to see if the neighbors have actually tried talking to the students about their concerns before they contact the university,” he said. “We want to see if they have made the honest attempt and students just blew them off.” San Marcos Police Chief Howard Williams said his department gets 15 to 20 calls a month for loud music. He said the Sagewood neighborhood is the area that receives the most complaints. He said SMPD works on a “sliding scale” that boils down to the issue of “reasonableness standard.” The reasonableness standard is one the department keeps in mind when reporting on a complaint. He said his officers will not issue citations in situations where they receive student cooperation, and, in situations where a conditional citation is issued — when no other officer shows up at the property the same night — the citation is seen as a warning. Williams said in instances where several trips are made to the same address and no one is cooperative, violations will be given. He said Texas State’s efforts to educate students on behavior may be more effective than police enforcement. “I am hoping, with this program, the university will educate students on what the rules are so that, when it comes to living in the community, they are good citizens,” Williams said. “What a lot of people don’t understand is that the university has control over campus and when the students are on-campus, but once it comes to them living in the community, the university can’t control students and what they do.”