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January 6, 1975 Mr. Roger O. Parent Fourth District Commissioner and President Common Council of the City of South Bend City County Building South Bend, Indiana 46601 Re: Proposed Amendment to Chapter 21 - South Bend Municipal Code Dear Mr. Parent: As you are well aware from our previous meetings with you, the Harter Heights Neighbors have organized into a permanent neighborhood group. One of our most immediate concerns is with the current "A- Residential" zoning classification. Briefly stated, it has become readily apparent in the past three years that an increasing number of one family dwellings are being used in Harter Heights and surrounding areas for purposes which violate the spirit and intent of the "A- Residential" zoning classification. "One family dwellings" which were originally designed and constructed for use by families (in the traditional sense of a blood, marriage or legal adoption relationship) , built in areas designated as residential and taxed accordingly, are being used for non - family purposes pursuant to multiple- renting schemes. These homes are owned by individuals who do not occupy the dwelling but rent, instead, to a number of unrelated individuals. Consequently, homes which should be available for purchase or rent by families have become, in effect, income properties which are wholly out of character with the integrity of "A- Residential" neighborhoods. Commercial encroachment of this kind naturally leads to problems vihich are all too obvious in residential neighborhoods where it has gone unchecked. The City of South Bend, like every urban area, has zoning ordinances designed to regulate land and structure uses. It has been proven time and again in cities across the United States, however, that unless such ordinances are strong, the city loses one of its most vital weapons with trhich to fight urban decay.