A City Council committee is scheduled Thursday to take up the controversial issue of mini-dorms — houses near college campuses in San Diego that are rented out to large numbers of students and, in some cases, become a neighborhood nuisance.
According to the College Area Community Council, the definition of a rooming house in the municipal code is vague, making the current rules difficult for city officials to enforce. The group has proposed changes to the code to clarify the meaning.
Near San Diego State University, around 700 single-family homes are rented to students, according to a CACC memo to Councilwoman Marti Emerald, whose Public Safety and Livable Neighborhoods Committee will discuss the proposals at a special meeting. Of those houses, 40 percent have between five and 10 bedrooms.
Currently, there are two sections of city law that define rooming houses. The proposed changes would narrow it down to one definition — that of a residence where three or more rooms, excluding kitchens and bathrooms, are rented to multiple tenants under separate rental agreements or leases, either written or oral.
The city has taken up the issue of mini-dorms before. In 2008, the City adopted two ordinances to deal with the issue, the Residential High Occupancy Permit Ordinance, which requires a permit for homes with six or more adult occupants, and Rooming House Ordinance, which defines a rooming house as a residence with three or more rooms for rent.
Housing regulated by state or federal law are exempt.
The College Area Community Council said mini-dorms cause problems by bringing too many cars, which are parked on lawns or paved front yards, or take up curbside parking spots. The high occupancy raises noise levels just by people coming and going, increases trash, and hastens wear-and-tear on the homes, their report said.
A concentration of such residences in one neighborhood just makes the problem worse, according to the report. The CACC went on to say high turnover means tenants have no stake in maintaining the property, and absentee landlords often fail to enforce rules.
— City News Service
