Colo. Christian U Housing: Lakewood Neighbors Object To Students

LAKEWOOD, CO -- Lakewood neighbors near Colorado Christian University's campus worry that the campus will expand into residential neighborhoods, or that some university-owned housing off campus will be used to house students. A "town and gown" confrontation between neighbors and the university last year over potential student housing in three university-owned duplexes on the east side of South Cody Court brewed up again as Lakewood's planning commission asked for comments to an ordinance change through the city's Lakewood Speaks interactive portal.

Lenore Herskovitz said on the forum that she lived for 18 years across the street as the university bought up properties and expanded their footprint, then moved into a university-owned building on the east side of Cody when her landlord sold her duplex. She was told by the university last spring she had to move out to make way for students, but after neighbors locked horns with the university, she was given a two-year new lease "through a year of difficult negotiations," she said.

"Please don't degrade our neighborhoods by allowing CCU to use homes purchased adjacent to the campus for student housing," wrote Cindy Fewell. "This effectively makes our neighborhoods 'transient' with high turnover residents that don't have a vested interest in maintaining the quality of our neighborhoods."

Shannon Dreyfuss, a vice president for campus development at CCU said the university bought the duplexes "as an investment" a few years ago. He said the university's student body has almost doubled from 800 to 1400 students, in the past couple of years, and the campus is being updated through a comprehensive plan submitted to the city in 2012 along with proposed zoning changes.

Describing last year's conflict with neighbors as a "dust up" and a "lack of communication," Dreyfuss said locals in the neighborhood had a "disagreement on the interpretation of some of the zoning. Some people felt just because we owned those properties, we could not allow students to live there," he said.

Because the university was under pressure to get students housed, they backed down on using the duplexes last year and "we have no plans now to use them for student housing," Dreyfuss said. Dreyfuss said CCU owns nine properties around Lakewood that are off-campus, but only the three duplexes on Cody Court are zoned R-2 (low-density residential).

Travis Parker, Lakewood's planning director, says the city can't write zoning code that specifically discriminates against a type of person, such as a student.

"No community can create rules to discriminate against a set of people," Parker said. "But we can create rules that apply to everybody -- but that affect students." The city's code has provisions requiring no more than five unrelated people in a single housing unit are, which discourages landlords, private or institutional, from renting to large groups of students. The university "is a landlord just like anyone else and they can rent to whoever they want," Parker said. The city's code, revamped in 2012 also prohibits "university uses" in residential areas, but Parker said that means the university can't build dorms, classrooms or offices.

But local realtor Bob Baker has a longer memory. President of the MidLakewood Civic Association, Baker said he remembers the last time the university attempted to house students in the single-family neighborhoods. According to Baker, 15 years ago, neighbors demanded zoning changes after the university "tried to take advantage" of a former residency code that allowed one tenant per room in a Lakewood home,"including kitchens and living rooms," Baker said. This meant a house could hold up to 10 or 12 residents, Baker said. He said the university bought up "about eight homes, including the one across the street from me," and started to install egress windows in the basements. They then proposed that up to 10 students live in the dwellings in a "theme home." Baker said he remembered the homes were decorated with "matching blue furniture" and "they were basically dorms."

Baker said he didn't object to private landlords renting to students. "We had some School of Mines students across the street for a few years that used to go up and pee off the roof," he said. But a private landlord can decide to change tenants, as opposed to a designating student tenants in properties owned by secondary education institutions. That's what happened on Baker's street, he said, after 15 years, "that house is finally sold to a single family."

Neighbors complain that students may be good people, but the neighborhood would be changed because of an infusion of a new "transient population."

Neighbors and the city worked together in 2003 to write a specific zoning code that prohibited university uses within the low-density parts of town, including "student living units."

Parker said that code was revamped in 2012, and still prohibits "university uses" in low-density neighborhoods. But Baker and others assert university-owned duplexes that rent only to students are basically university uses. Baker also challenged Parker's assertion that students are a protected group. "Legally, students are not a protected class in terms of housing discrimination." Discrimination is illegal against people based on race, religion, family status. sexual preference or disability, but not student status.

Baker said neighbors will continue to fight to make sure the city's code has teeth in it that keep university-owned student housing out of the surrounding neighborhoods. "I can't believe we're fighting this again, after 15 years," Baker said.

The planning department will vote Wednesday on a amendment to the code that gives a description of a university or college for zoning purposes, but then adds "Nothing in this definition shall be used to prohibit permitted uses in [sic] listed within each zone district."

The code's definition of a university/college is:

A place which is accredited by the Colorado Commission on Higher
Education providing higher education beyond grade twelve, which offers either a two year or
four year degree in specific disciplines that may include a combination of the following uses but
is not limited to: higher education classrooms, higher education offices, administrative buildings,
athletic facilities and fields, student living units, laboratories, library, cafeteria, student center,
bookstore and auditorium that are owned or controlled by the University or College.

The planning commission's recommendation for the change will appear before the city council for final approval in the coming months.

Meanwhile, the university has "learned some lessons that we need to communicate better with neighbors about what's going on," said Dreyfuss. The university hosted an open house January 31 to invite neighbors to see their new plans on campus, including Yetter Hall, the first of two new planned student dorms.

The school will also host a community meeting Tuesday, April 24 at the Lakewood Cultural Center at 7 p.m.

"We’re committed to clear communication and being good neighbors," Dreyfuss said. "We understand not everybody’s going to like us. That’s OK. We have great students and are making great changes, just like the City of Lakewood. But I know change sometimes is hard," he added.

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