Next public meeting is Jan. 14
Jan 07, 2008 - 03:33 PM
By Jillian Follert
OSHAWA -- After pouring over 300 written submissions and listening to dozens vent their frustration at a public meeting in October, City staff have tweaked a proposed bylaw to regulate student rental housing near the Durham College/UOIT campus.
The second draft was unveiled in late December and a public meeting is planned for next Monday to gather another round of feedback.
“It doesn’t matter what the City does, some people are still going to be upset,” said Mayor John Gray. “But staff have worked very hard to put together something reasonable and I think this is a good balance.”
Fraser McArthur, president of the Student Association at Durham College and UOIT, says he was encouraged that the City consulted with students during the writing of the bylaw, but ultimately feels their concerns weren’t addressed.
His biggest worry is that the four-bedroom limit will force students out of renting houses in their neighbourhoods near campus, because rent once split between six or eight tenants will now be divided between four people.
“All this will do is cause rents to increase and our rents are already above the average in other places,” he said, noting off-campus dwellers typically pay between $500 and $550 each a month. “We’re really disappointed. Instead of listening to our concerns about the four-bedroom limit, they’ve actually made things more restrictive.”
Michelle Bray, vice-president of the Windfields Farm Community Association, is encouraged by many of the changes -- especially the maintenance and parking schedules.
“The number of vehicles and poorly maintained properties are a big sore point so this is really promising,” she said.
However, her group would still like to see the City limit the number of licences issued and they want assurances that staff will actually be able to enforce this bylaw if it is passed.
All parties are hopeful an influx of new student housing options in the next few years will make the issue obsolete.
In October, the City’s Town and Gown Committee announced the university will be building new apartment-style residence units, to entice more students to live on campus.
An estimated 350 beds will be available as early as September 2008, with 800 beds in total available by September 2009. The new units will bring the total number of on-campus housing spaces to over 2,100.
As well, two private developers have expressed interest in building student apartments/condos near campus, with one project tentatively planned for Simcoe Street North and Niagara Drive and the other slated for Simcoe Street North and Taylorwood Road.
A copy of the revised bylaw is available online at t www.oshawa.ca
The Jan. 14 public meeting starts at 7:30 p.m. at General Sikorski Hall, 1551 Stevenson Rd. N., in Oshawa.
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