Oct 10, 2007 - 10:09 AM

By Jillian Follert

OSHAWA -- More than 300 people filled General Sikorski Hall to capacity Tuesday night, for the second attempt at a public meeting on the issue of student housing.

The first meeting, held at City Hall on Sept. 10, was adjourned after councillors were taken off guard by the overflow turnout.

“This is a lot of people,” said renter and former student Jacynthe Bremner, as she surveyed the crowd Tuesday evening.

“But I guess it’s one of those issues that gets people really emotional.”

On one side of the room, dozens of homeowners sat dressed in co-ordinated red shirts as a show of solidarity, while students, landlords and community stakeholders rounded out the rest of the audience.

Over the course of the night, more than 40 speakers took a turn at the podium for their allotted five minutes, with the majority suggesting the draft bylaw could use some tweaking.

Earlier this year, City staff began work on a bylaw that aims to ease the tension between homeowners living in the neighbourhoods near Durham College and UOIT, and the students renting homes in their midst.

The proposed bylaw -- which would apply only to neighbourhoods buffering the campus -- would require anyone renting out all or part of a residential building to apply for a City licence.

Property owners would have to prove the home meets zoning requirements, building and fire codes and property standards, before being granted a licence and each home would be permitted a maximum of four bedrooms -- although the City would not regulate how many people actually live there.    

Jerry Conlin, the City’s director of municipal law enforcement and licensing, told the crowd this would benefit students by ensuring safe housing, neighbourhood residents by weeding out bad operators and guaranteeing property standards are met and landlords by creating benchmarks for quality housing.

“This is the first bylaw of its kind in Ontario since Bill 130,” Mr. Conlin said, referring to new legislation that allows municipalities to regulate rental housing.

“Many other university centres are watching Oshawa’s initiative and are closely monitoring it for use in their own communities.”

Jeff Gauthier wasn’t impressed.

In his deputation, the property owner said the bylaw discriminates against students by treating them as “second class citizens,” forces them to live in less desirable areas of the city and encourages NIMBYism.

Naheed Dosani, vice president of the Student Association representing Durham College and UOIT, lamented the fact that students weren’t consulted before the bylaw was drafted and expressed concern about the four-bedroom limit, saying it will reduce the availability of off-campus housing and drive up the price of whatever is left.

“The landlords are here to make money, they will not decrease their profit margins,” he said.

One of those tentatively in favour of the bylaw was David Bray, president of the Windfield Farms Community Association, which represents about 200 homeowners in the Windfield subdivision.

He said the bylaw could solve some of the density issues and protect student renters, but he would like to see it expanded to limit the number of licences issued and set a minimum distance between rental units.    

“Density is a huge problem, having so many rental properties in a small geographic area is not healthy,” he said. “Families want to live near other families with like interests and desires.”

These and the other comments submitted through deputations and written submissions will all be taken into account by City staff and councillors, when considering how to move forward with the proposed bylaw.