De-facto dorms
A recent editorial in The Eagle argued that College Station should eliminate the ability to restrict some neighborhoods to no more than four unrelated residents in a home. The no-more-than-four rule is critical to keeping College Station family-friendly. There are many areas in College Station that allow apartment complexes and multi-unit houses, and more such areas are about to be designated by the city. But we also need stable family neighborhoods where we can raise our kids, and without the no-more-than-four rule, those neighborhoods will be at risk as developers buy up single-family homes and convert them into de-facto dorms.
Just as we wouldn’t allow a convenience store or restaurant to be opened in the middle of a neighborhood of single-family homes, we should not allow de-facto dorms in a family neighborhood. Consider a family who invested their life savings in a house in a family neighborhood, only to find out that the house next door is being converted into a stealth dorm, and that more such dorms are coming on their street. How is that fair to them? What family would buy in a neighborhood where that was a possibility? This has already happened in a number of College Station neighborhoods, where all the families have moved out.
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The editorial writer argued that the no-more-than-four rule hurts less affluent families. In fact, allowing single-family houses to be converted into de-facto dorms pushes rents beyond the reach of lower-income families since a developer can get much more income by renting bedrooms out individually to five or six students than by renting to a family. We should remember that the Aggie Family is not composed only of 18-to-22-year-olds. Aggies are also veterans, graduate students, non-traditional students, faculty, and staff, many of whom have families. They deserve a family-friendly place to live.
Lucy Deckard,
College Station
New problems
The editorial by Jackson Steel on March 7 misrepresents the meaning and purpose of limiting the number of unrelated residents allowed in single family zoned areas. Jackson states it was imposed in the 1930’s to keep minorities out of College Station. Where he gets such a screwed-up idea is beyond me and nothing is further from the truth. Even in the age of Trump it is difficult to see where he came up with this idea.
Jackson, there are other values not explained by the so-called law of supply and demand. Zoning ordinances are imposed to provided order and compatibility to land use. When, in older areas of the multifamily (more than four) housing is allowed, the streets and off-street parking are basically disrupted. This places a demand on all city services (sewage, drainage, trash collection; fire protection).
If the city allowed more than four it might solve some of the problems mentioned in the letter but it would create many more.
Gary M. Halter,
College Station
Useful idiots?
When you see a bloody child in Gaza, it is natural to react with horror. Well-meaning, civilized people then demand that Israel stop the war. If you react that way, you are being played as a useful idiot! That is exactly what the terrorists hoped for when they put children in harm’s way. Do you really want to reward such despicable behavior?
The only proper reaction is to pray that Israel crushes Hamas, so that a lesson can be learned. The people of Gaza, the West Bank and, particularly, Iran, must be forced to give up the ideology of hatred that promotes murder and brutality in the name of religion. If terror is rewarded, by stopping Israel from protecting itself from unspeakable terror, you can bet that it will come to a neighborhood near you. You may be willing to sacrifice the Jews to save the children of Gaza, but you will be inviting disaster.
William Bassichis,
College Station