Ordinance Change Would Limit Rental Housing To 3 College Students

NARRAGANSETT, RI – College students seeking housing within the town limits may have to adjust their strategy after the Narragansett Town Council gave its initial approval Monday night to limit rental housing units to three occupants.

In a 4-1 vote that was part of a three-hour meeting, councilors gave first approval to changing a town ordinance regarding maximum occupancy for rental units from “four unrelated people” to three college students.

Councilman Patrick Murray was the lone member to vote against the change, which also drew opposition from the Narragansett chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union as well as the presidents of the Interfraternity Council at Monday's meeting.

According to town officials, the ordinance change follows the lead of a policy change in Providence, where an ordinance limiting occupancy in rental units to three people was recently upheld by the Rhode Island Supreme Court.

In an email to Patch on Tuesday, Councilman Jesse Pugh said the council will determine when the ordinance would take effect. He said he would not support any ordinance that would begin before the conclusion of the upcoming academic year. He added that the ordinance has been in the works for some time and that town officials were awaiting the Supreme Court decision before they moved ahead.

The reasoning for the ordinance change is two-fold, Pugh said in the email. The limits would help to curb the number of college parties and noise that comes from rentals and it also opens up more rental housing for residents who seek to live in Narragansett full-time.

According to town officials who spoke during Monday’s meeting, the University of Rhode Island became part of the issue when it admitted more students than it could use. By doing so, students were forced to find housing in other places, including Narragansett.

“URI isn’t in Narragansett,” Pugh said during Monday’s meeting. “The idea that this is the only place to live and you can do it with as many people as you want” is not correct.

But, he added: Limiting renters to three might not stop all parties, but “will help move us toward our goal.”

Opponents of the change argued on a number of points including the possibility that the change could lower home values in the town and that owners of rental properties would have difficulty finding tenants because the rent would need to be split between three people rather than four.

However, town residents who do not favor the change, said during Monday’s meeting that the number of people in rental houses isn’t the core of the problem with noise and ongoing parties. Instead, Narragansett resident Amy Potter, who told councilors she has rented to both college students and vacation visitors for 20 years without issue, said other forces are at play, according to reports.

“(Students) can have 250 people in the neighborhood with the swipe of their finger (on social media apps),” Potter said Monday night, according to the Providence Journal. “We knew these kids did not know the kids in the house, but they came with kegs on their shoulders.”