February 5, 2009 Issue
Proposed Conservation District Sparks Controversy
At Monday’s Quarterly Public Hearing, residents of a neighborhood off Queen Street made their case to the Boone Area Planning Committee and the Boone Town Council for establishing a Queen Street neighborhood conservation district, but some attendees raised objections, citing discrimination and excessive regulation.
Boone currently has five neighborhood conservation districts—Blanwood Drive, Forrest Hills Drive, Grand Boulevard, Grandview Heights and Stadium Drive—where renters must complete and file a residential parking form and display parking stickers on their vehicles. The parking stickers are issued by Development Services at no charge. In addition, owners who rent their property and live more than 50 miles from Boone must designate a local managing agent who will be responsible for occupancy issues at the property. The point of the neighborhood conservation districts is to ensure that property owners and renters understand the occupancy limitations in R-1 residential neighborhoods and to provide tools for ensuring compliance.
Residents of Queen Street, Gladys Street and Charles Street approached the town council in November with the request, citing neighborhood disturbance from college-age renters who were also in violation of the occupancy limits. In R-1 neighborhoods, no more than two unrelated persons can reside in a dwelling unit.
At Monday’s public hearing, neighborhood resident Chris Rider said that some of the renters in the neighborhood displayed “flagrant disregard for the laws of the Town of Boone and its zoning provisions.” Rider said the residents had “seen a tremendous amount of increase in crime that we’ve never seen before.” Among the problems Rider listed are driving under the influence, speeding, larceny, public consumption of alcohol, cursing, parties at all hours, increased traffic and drug trafficking.
“We have something here that’s really worthy of preservation,” Rider said, referring to the neighborhood. “We’re here in force tonight, many of us from the neighborhood, to ask you to give us these tools to preserve our wonderful neighborhood.”
Property owner and resident Janice Koppenhaver also spoke in favor of the conservation district. “I own a house; I live there; I want to preserve my neighborhood,” she said.
Maran and Keva Sigmon also expressed support for the conservation district. Keva Sigmon said she had seen more law enforcement officers in the neighborhood in the past year than she has ever seen before. She and her husband have lived in their home for 25 years. “I am proud of my home, proud of Boone and I want it to stay that way,” she said.
John Kwiatkowski said the conservation district would help clear up ambiguities about occupancy requirements in R-1 neighborhoods because real estate salespeople would be required to inform potential buyers of the limitations. In addition, Kwiatkowski said, the parking stickers would provide a way for neighbors to keep track of cars that do not belong to the residents at a property and identify violations.
Gail York expressed opposition to the proposed conservation district. York owns a home on Charles Street that she rents to ASU staff members. Her tenants are responsible professionals, she said, who are not causing problems in the neighborhood. “I feel like it’s discrimination to ask tenants to get these forms and not homeowners,” York said. “You’re asking people to put out money to park where they live. I don’t understand it…I feel like there’s this control thing going on and I don’t like it. I had to come speak out.”
Tim Gooly also raised objections, saying that the neighborhood conservation districts are discrimination against renters who cannot afford to buy property. “I don’t see the sense of having parking stickers for renters, but not owners,” he said.
REALTOR Jean Borhman objected to the neighborhood conservation ordinance and gave several examples of nontraditional family arrangements in which some family members would not be able to obtain parking stickers. “I question the constitutionality of requiring the purchase of parking stickers for cars parked on private property,” she said.
Planning Director John Speer, in response to questions from the council and the planning commission, said his department had investigated four violations in the neighborhood in the past eight months and clarified that the R-1 zoning in the neighborhood—the zoning that restricts occupancy to two unrelated persons—would not change if the council approves the conservation district. Town Attorney Sam Furgiuele pointed out that the conservation district does not restrict parking, but is a tool to help Development Services staff detect violations.
The planning commission will consider the case at its meeting this month and make a recommendation to the town council.
No one attended the public hearing to speak on the other cases on the agenda: a change in parking requirements, a watershed reclassification for property on Deck Hill Road and a change in sidewalk standars.
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