IUSA enters zoning debate

In a letter sent last Monday to Mayor John Fernandez by the IU Student Association and Bloomington's City Council, IUSA expressed its concern over a controversial zoning ordinance issue they feel is unfairly stereotyping IU's students.\n"As active members of the Bloomington community, we are overwhelmed by the current events concerning renting regulations for related versus non-related housemates," the letter said. \nThose renting regulations refer to a zoning ordinance, which allowed no more than three unrelated people to live together under the same roof. That ordinance has since been deemed unconstitutional and the city is planning to file a petition to the Indiana Supreme Court today.\nIn the letter sent to the city, IUSA said the ordinance unfairly targets students.\n"Non-related renters deserve to be treated equally in the Bloomington community," the letter said. "They contribute to the growth and prosperity of Bloomington and their personal growth and well-being should not be marginalized by a ludicrous ordinance."\nThe city of West Lafayette decided Sunday to join Bloomington in fighting the court of appeals decision deeming the ordinance unconstitutional. Bob Bauman, a West Lafayette attorney, said the city plans to file a friend-of-the-court brief supporting Bloomington's position on the ordinance.\nIUSA was also concerned by comments made in the the June 6th edition of the IDS by Bill Hayden, president of the Bryan Park Neighborhood Association, referring to drunk undergraduate students moving into residential areas and disturbing the peace.\n"We find it unacceptable to stereotype 19,000 students as vulgar drunks," the letter continued. "Such an uncouth comment is unbecoming of a community leader, and sets a terrible example for the 37,000 students at Indiana University."\nPhil Worthington, president of the Garden Hills Neighborhood Association, doesn't agree some community members are stereotyping IU's students.\n"Students stereotype themselves," Worthington said. "It's unfortunate that everyone pays the price for the actions of the few. We can't have a special ordinance for those who don't follow the rules."\nLydia Roll, director of IUSA's legislative relations office, said IUSA wanted to let the community know another side of the story.\n"We feel that's unfair to target a specific group of people," Roll said. "We just wanted to make our opinion known to them."\nIn the same edition of the IDS, Hayden called for mandatory residency on campus for all freshmen and sophomores, a policy Roll believes is unfeasible.\n"The dorms are already at capacity," Roll said. "You have all these students, and they have to live somewhere."\nJudd Arnold, IUSA student body vice president of administration, said he agreed building more dormitories would not be the best solution because the University is already $100 million short from the state.\nMichael Flory, a city assistant attorney, will be filing the petition to the Indiana Supreme Court today to hear the case. Flory said he was under the impression IUSA supported the ordinance in 1985, when it was first approved. Arnold said that would be irrelevant now.\nRoll, who said she will be closely watching the court's decision, hopes this issue will be resolved soon.\n"I think this problem can be curtailed easily," Roll said. "I'm interested to see if the Supreme Court takes the case."\nThe Associated Press contributed to this story.