SAN MARCOS: New rooming house ordinance takes effect Thursday

City plans to launch advertising blitz to educate people about need for multi-tenant permits

By ANDREA MOSS - Staff Writer | Wednesday, August 6, 2008 1:50 PM PDT ∞

SAN MARCOS ---- City officials are preparing to launch an advertising blitz to spread the word about a new rooming house ordinance that takes effect Thursday, Aug. 7.

The ordinance, which was created in response to complaints about rowdy tenants, high numbers of parked cars and other problems associated with what some call "mini dorms," limits landlords' ability to lease certain types of homes to multiple tenants.

The marketing campaign is designed to make sure everyone knows about the ordinance and how it works. The campaign's kickoff is timed to coincide with a major influx of students who are expected to descend on this city in the next couple of weeks.

Cal State San Marcos and Palomar College will begin their 2008-2009 school years Aug. 25. Many of the incoming students will lease off-campus homes that are subject to the new ordinance.

As part of the blitz, the university and the college will both be papered with colorful brochures, posters and fliers telling people about the ordinance by the time students arrive.

Students also can expect to see television ads, special pages on the Web sites for both campuses, notices and stories in city and school publications, and promotional goodies promoting the new ordinance.

"We're partnering with Cal State San Marcos and Palomar College to get the message out," city spokeswoman Jenny Peterson said this week. "It's primarily aimed at students living in San Marcos and landlords who rent homes or rooms to students."

The campaign will also target San Marcos residents as a whole, as well as city employees and Cal State San Marcos and Palomar College faculty and staff members who may have to deal with questions about or violations of the ordinance, she said.

The ordinance was drafted by a Student and Neighborhood Relations Commission that the City Council created earlier this year. Approved by the council in July, the ordinance requires condominium and town home owners who lease them to five or more different tenants to apply for rooming house permits that cost nearly $7,200.

The owners of apartment complexes that do not have professional property managers must get the permits as well, or complete a property management training course that has been approved by the city.

The commission is still working out details of how the ordinance will be enforced. However, violators who ignore city warnings or citations could face progressively larger fines, civil lawsuits filed by the city or court orders requested by the city and other legal actions. The city also has the power to pursue criminal charges against those who violate the ordinance, though that part of it will not take effect for a year.

Proponents say the ordinance will protect residential areas whose peace and quiet are disturbed by partying students and other tenants who have no consideration for their neighbors. Although those filing the complaints say Cal State San Marcos or Palomar College students typically cause the problems being cited, city officials have said non-student adults who lease rooms or homes are to blame at least as often.

The ordinance's critics see it as a threat to private property rights and say it will punish otherwise law-abiding citizens reported to the city simply because their properties have more than four tenants, even if the renters cause no problems.

Peterson said the city will spend up to $3,000 on the outreach effort, which will feature a special logo and slogan that have yet to be created. Most of the design work for the campaign will be done "in house," she said, to keep the costs down.

At commission members' suggestion, several different informational brochures will be created, she added.

"The plan is to have three different versions that address specific concerns of each of (the targeted) audiences," said Peterson. "We understand that each group has different concerns and situations."

Contact staff writer Andrea Moss at (760) 739-6654 or amoss@nctimes.com.

SAN MARCOS ROOMING HOUSE ORDINANCE

-- Takes effect today

-- Requires owners of condominiums and town homes that are leased to five or more tenants to obtain a $7,200 city permit

-- Requires owners of apartment complexes with no professional property management to get a permit or complete an approved property management training course

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Pre-Registration Comments[-]Go to Top

shaun wrote on Aug 6, 2008 3:45 PM:With the prices going up i can undestand why people are living together!!!!

QT wrote on Aug 6, 2008 4:28 PM:Great idea! We chould use it in Escondido. I don't want to live next to a party house, dorm house, or an illegal immigrant house as they are all very loud. They should live in small dumpy apartments like I did when I was working my way through college. Pay your dues and stay out of the nice family neighborhoods.

Silly rabbit... wrote on Aug 6, 2008 11:24 PM:Do you REALLY think the city is going to crack down on a NEW ordinance when they don't crack down on EXISTING ones?

Silly rabbit, politicians only write bills and ordinances, they don't enforce them.

In fact, I don't think any laws are enforced anymore--- just messy clean-up duty carried out by officers for those individuals unlucky enough to have hit the morgue lottery from a ticket handed out by a criminal disobeying the laws and ordinances politicians write, but never enforce.

And on and on it goes....

Skip wrote on Aug 7, 2008 12:07 AM:If they can do this in San Marcos to reduce and control over-crowding by American Citizens, then why can't they also do this in Escondido to control over-crowding of Illegal Aliens? Or would that be racist?

QT wrote on Aug 7, 2008 2:04 AM:is right. The problem is spilling over into Escondido. I live on a private road in a nice area and the extra traffic and trash, etc., have a negative effect on our single-family property rights. Escondido is next. Why should we suffer for other's greed?

Sten wrote on Aug 7, 2008 6:21 AM:A student is no different that anyone else. There are good ones and bad ones. Lets make people who entertain at their homes pay the $7000 fee for plugging up the neighborhood and making too much noise for weddings, bar mtizvahs, ladder climbing events, sex, and tupperwear parties.

The property owners bear the ultimate expense of bad tenants-there is no easy way to recoup from the costs of damage due to partying, domestic violence or just plain bad tenants.

We suffer wrote on Aug 7, 2008 7:02 AM:because we let our politicians and law enforcement officers take a paycheck they aren't earning!!

ENFORCEMENT EARLY ON IS KEY wrote on Aug 7, 2008 11:28 AM:The noticable percentage of "bank owned" properties make this an especially proper time for the City to put some REAL enforcement behind this ordinance. I have two such houses on my block that have been rented to agricultural workers. At the end of the work week a slew of pick up trucks decend on these two houses and a seemingly endless weekend party begins in earnest. The hell with the gringos seems to be the message.

The people are so obviously poor that I can't imagine how crappy it must be to think that the softest place that you have to put your little kid's head at night is amidst a bunch of heavy drinking and progressively roudy men. 1AM...that's when the blatant abuse of our right to a peaceful night's sleep is most violated.

The foreclosure problem is going to make this issue a much greater occurrance than people see now and lessors should be held accountable EARLY ON.
Early on enforcemetn is so key. The integrity of our returning property values and family neighborhoods is truly in the balance.

- wrote on Aug 7, 2008 12:49 PM:What about single family homes, I don’t see that mentioned (AAAHHHHH!!!!). A CSUSM student entrepreneur is on the lease and he is making a bundle subletting to 5 other students. This is the situation right next door to my home.

John wrote on Aug 7, 2008 12:57 PM:I can not seem to find the new ordinance any where, anyone have a link to it?

wrote on Aug 7, 2008 3:30 PM:I can not believe that single family homes are not included!!! I too have a frat house next door and the occupants have parties till 2-3am. Law enforcement is not effective. As soon as the officer leaves the obnoxious behvior returns. Not once do they check for underage drinking!! I guess we'll have to wait for a drunk driving death or violent crime before any comprehensive action takes place. San Marcos officials can do better.

Gasarita wrote on Aug 7, 2008 7:24 PM:I have heard that our city fathers want to pass a "BGR" law, which everyone knows is a "Bad Gas Reduction" law. It will limit the number of persons who may be in a residence at one time to reduce their gas production as it is pollution and contributes to our local global warming. It could also be a fire hazard due to the potentially explosive nature of rectal gas. Our city fathers are looking into the source (if you catch my drift) of the production source of the emissions.

CodeEnforcement wrote on Aug 12, 2008 10:31 PM:The more public nuisance laws like this the better. So they don't actively enforce them...that doesn't mean you can't. The citizen who shows initiative and self educates him or herself with city code can demand enforcement as problems arise. If the party starts up after the police leave, call the police back 100 times if required. Or submit your complaints to code enforcement. Fight back by methodically documenting infractions and building cases against those with no regard or respect for your right to peace and quiet, especially after 10pm.

Ruben wrote on Aug 25, 2008 12:24 PM:John,
Have you been able to locate the link to this ordinance?

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