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Community/Campus Advisory Coalition (CCAC) <br />February 11, 2009 Meeting Minutes <br />Page 3 <br />Zonina Issues <br />Council Member Kirsits asked Cathy Toppel for an update on housing problems and if <br />there were still problems with zoning issues. She affirmed that there are still problems <br />getting information to the parents on what properties are legal and safe for students. <br />She recently had a mother of a student call concerning code violations which were <br />safety issues. In this case the students have to move and are extremely frustrated that <br />they have to find new housing this late in the year. In addition, since the students had <br />signed a lease, they had to hire an attorney to help them try to get out of the lease and <br />get the security deposit returned. <br />She also spoke of a recent case she believed was in Evansville which that city lost, <br />concerning too many unrelated people living in a house. Neighbors had documented <br />license plate numbers and the coming and going of the residents, but the Court said <br />that was insufficient evidence. In this case documentation was deemed not enough <br />evidence and testimony by witnesses was needed. <br />Ms. Toppel said the Legal Department is examining the current law to see how it can <br />be strengthened. The Zoning Commission is also working on this problem. <br />Mr. Stenz suggested that the Universities provide Code Enforcement with the <br />addresses of students living off campus to see how many students are using the same <br />address. However, Brian Coughlin said students are not required to submit their local <br />addresses to the school. <br />A brief discussion was held on a bill currently in the Indiana legislature which would <br />require licensing or registration of property owners. Some attendees felt that adding <br />more laws would not help the situation and others disagreed. Ms. Toppel said they are <br />having some success getting the attention of landlords because fines for code <br />violations can now be added to property taxes. <br />nthP_r ISSl1BS <br />Council Member Kirsits then asked if there were any other issues to be discussed. <br />• Bob Reish indicated there is still a feeling of disconnect between students and <br />neighbors and the University continues to work on this. A "Communiversity Day" <br />has been suggested so that students and neighbors can come together on a <br />project that will benefit both groups. He would like to see more student <br />