The subject of the student housing ordinance has hit close to home for several students who live in a house in downtown Greensburg.
The city of Greensburg website states that the requirement for student’s homes under the ordinance are: no more than five students can occupy a student home, a student home’s cannot be within 500 feet of another student home, and off street parking must be provided for student residents.
By Rachel Prichard
Senior Staff Writer
The subject of the student housing ordinance has hit close to home for several students who live in a house in downtown Greensburg.
The city of Greensburg website states that the requirement for student’s homes under the ordinance are: no more than five students can occupy a student home, a student home’s cannot be within 500 feet of another student home, and off street parking must be provided for student residents.
Johnny Groat, Joel Zalesky, and Nathan Riechel are all juniors and lacrosse players at Seton Hill University who began to rent their house on Talbot Ave. in January of 2008.
They are one of two student houses on the street. Halfway through the year, a resident two houses down filed a complaint with the city.
The neighbor claimed that the men were throwing noisy parties and blocking the parking of her house.
Another complaint the neighbor had claimed that the student house was “bringing down property values.” Though, right next door to the students is an abandoned house that has not yet been torn down by the city.
“Our landlord refurnished our entire house before we moved in. It looks nicer than many of the houses on the street,” said Groat.
Groat, Zalesky, Riechel, and their landlord went to a hearing in front of the zoning committee of Greensburg to try and get a variance for the 500 feet ordinance but they were denied.
The neighbor had presented a petition that claimed the men were a problem on Talbot Avenue and had all the residents sign it.
The students claim they do not throw parties and park in the designated parking spaces given to them by their landlord.
“Our house allows for four cars to be parked on the property. We have three spaces in the back of the house and one space on the street in the front,” said Groat.
There has also been no record of the police ever having to come to the house. Their landlord is in support of the men living in the house.
He plans to appeal the variance in December of 2008 with the support of other local landlords of student housing.
