Most college students love a quick buck. But an influx of cash to crack down on some students? rowdy behavior may be less thrilling.
Some General Assembly lawmakers have introduced legislation to fund late-night patrols to enforce housing laws near public universities ? the areas most plagued by noisy parties, drunken melees and trash-littered lawns, one said.
“Communities have struggled with students when school is in session,” said Del. Sue Aumann, a Towson Republican. “This provides more money for code enforcement at night.”
The bill would authorize the state?s Department of Housing and Community Development to provide grants for governments to hire after-hours code enforcement officers, freeing up campus and county police, Aumann said.
In Towson, activists said demand for off-campus student housing and increasing university enrollment is encroaching on quiet family neighborhoods. They?ve pushed for regulations capping the number of tenants per apartment building, but Aumann questioned the constitutionality of such a measure.
County officials have asked property managers to voluntarily limit occupancy, saying blanket restrictions would unfairly affect landlords in parts of the county without complaints.
Rodgers Forge activist Don Gerding said problems aren?t limited to students. In his community, Gerding said overburdened police often arrive too late to help.
“Sometimes by the time they get there, the ruckus is gone,” Gerding said. “An after-hours code enforcement officer could make a big turnaround in cleaning up some of this.”
A Thursday hearing is scheduled for Aumann?s bill ? which is co-sponsored by Baltimore County Dels. Steven Deboy and Pat McDonough and Carroll Del. Nancy Stocksdale.
A spokesman for County Executive Jim Smith declined to take a position on the proposal.
