Issue date: 11/13/06 Section: News

Media Credit: hussain alsaihati ROOM WITH A VIEW - Marylin Shoenberger voices complaints to the council about students' cars obstructing the view from her sunroom.

Sick of the noisy dormitories and looking for a space where they could all live together, Lauren Reich and four friends moved off campus last year into a house on Pierce St. in Orono. Reich, a third-year art history major, said it was an opportunity for the five ex-Honors students to live together.

They planted flowers in the yard and painted room walls, Reich said. "The house looks better now than it did when we moved in."

Students have long been living in such arrangements as a way to be with friends and save money by splitting the rent between many people. But the Orono Town Council is considering measures that would put an end to student group living.

A proposed ordinance that would limit single-family residences to three unrelated people has been under discussion, and an informational meeting Thursday regarding the proposal showed that it may have some community support. The current limit for unrelated individuals living together in Orono is five.

Orono residents in attendance complained of public sexual behavior, defecation on lawns, threatening behavior and vandalism. Some expressed concerns that cars parked up and down narrow streets during student parties could block emergency vehicles.

Town Manager Cathy Conlow said she receives frequent phone calls at the town office complaining about parties where cars are parked on lawns, noise continues through the night and in the morning, the ground is littered with beer cans and other debris. "I would say we get five to 10 [calls] a week," Conlow said, adding that she gets even more complaints after large parties and other events.

UMaine students are trashing residential neighborhoods and bringing down property values, some residents said. As demand for student housing has grown, more Orono residences have converted to student dwellings, changing neighborhoods that were once filled with single-family units.

M. Terri Hutchinson, a member of the Orono Town Council, was one of the most vocal supporters of the proposed occupancy limit. She said the problem extended past a nuisance and that some neighborhoods actually felt fearful of rowdy students.

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