Thursday, August 25, 2005
Megan Hollenbeck, Prairie Village senior, and her three roommates were shocked to learn of a complaint made against them by a neighbor.
Around March she and her roommates, who live in a house on the 1700 block of Indiana Street, went to their landlord to discuss renewing their lease. Their landlord told them someone had complained too many people were living in their house, Hollenbeck said.
Hollenbeck said the landlord explained that although they were good tenants, they would be taken to court if one of them did not move out.
Because more than three non-related people were living in the same house in a single-family district, the four women were violating the occupancy ordinance 7323.
A family is defined as a person living alone; two or more people related by blood, marriage or legal adoption living together; or a group of three or fewer people not related by blood or marriage living together, according to www.lawrenceplanning.org.
The Web site also contains a color-coded map showing where single family districts are located.
“We never even had one party,” Hollenbeck said. “We were really quiet, kept the house clean and paid on time. The neighbors all seemed to like us. I’m still pretty upset about it.”
The number of residents allowed in a house isn’t the only ordinance that affects students; they should also be aware of noise and parking ordinances.
If a house makes excessive noise constituting disturbance of peace, the residents are in violation of noise ordinance 14-413. According to www.lawrencepolice.org, each year the Lawrence Police Department responds to more than 2,500 noise-related phone calls. First time offenders may receive only a warning. Additional calls result in a citation.
One citation results in a fine, Sgt. Dan Ward of the Lawrence Police Department said. If the residents receive two or more citations, they could be evicted.
Ward said for a resident’s first violation of a noise ordinance, it is the officer’s decision whether the resident receives a warning or a citation. Officers are more likely to give a citation when the situation is out of control and the resident is uncooperative, he said.
Although penalties for parking ordinance violations are not as serious, violators do receive fines from the city. People are not allowed to park cars in front or side yards or stay in the same spot on the street for more than 48 hours.
According to www.lawrencepolice.org, it is illegal to park within 30 feet of a traffic control device, within 20 feet of a crosswalk, within 15 feet of a fire hydrant or more than one foot from a curb. It is also illegal to block a private drive.
— Edited by Erin Wisdom
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