Boston landlords hoping to overturn a new zoning ordinance prohibiting five or more college students from living together in off-campus housing will make their case in Land Court Tuesday.
“We have numerous objections to the ordinance,” said Stephen A. Greenbaum, a Boston attorney representing property owners who oppose the law.
In a lawsuit filed in May, Mark Rosenberg, a trustee of the R&R Realty Trust, claims the new law is unconstitutional because it restricts freedom of association. He also argues it violates a state ban on rent control because the ordinance regulates rents by limiting the number of people who can live in an apartment.
But the plaintiffs may have a hard time convincing a judge to overturn the zoning statute. In May, Judge Charles W. Trombly Jr. denied Rosenberg’s request to issue a preliminary injunction that would have delayed implementation of the ordinance. The judge ruled land-lords failed to provide evidence that they will succeed at trial or prove irreparable harm will result from a denial of the injunction.
Fast-Track Regulation
Last year, Boston City Councilor Michael Ross proposed the amendment to the zoning code that allows four or fewer off-campus undergraduate students to share an apartment. The City Council unanimously passed the petition in December, and the Boston Redevelopment Authority gave its approval in February. The Boston Zoning Commission adopted the amendment in March, with strong support from Mayor Thomas M. Menino.
Ross said the amendment simply clarifies an existing rule that defines a “family” under the city’s zoning code, following a recent court case. He is convinced the statute will be upheld at trial.
“Attorney Greenbaum got his head handed to him by the judge during the hearing for a preliminary injunction,” Ross said. “Virtually every city in the U.S. has an ordinance limiting the number of people who can live in an apartment. We are confident the statute will stay.”
Ross spearheaded the zoning change following complaints by residents about rowdy students who litter the neighborhood and urinate in public. Landlords who drive up rents by packing as many undergraduates as possible into apartments were also targeted. As a result, he said, families and young professionals found themselves displaced or unable to find affordable housing.
But landlords insist the sweeping measure is unfair, targeting a certain segment of the public and forcing students into pricey college dormitories.
The law is expected to have an impact on more than 10,000 students who live in private housing in the city’s downtown neighborhoods. Enforcement will be driven by complaints from neighbors, Ross said.
