By Jake Palmateer
ONEONTA _ The Common Council on Tuesday night approved the redefining of what constitutes a functional family unit with regard to the city's zoning code.
An existing city ordinance governing what is a family was recently ruled unconstitutional by state Supreme Court Justice Michael Coccoma.
Mayor John Nader said the new ordinance defining the term "functional family unit" is designed to protect the city from having too many unrelated people living in a single-dwelling unit. The ordinance was under development before the court case on which Coccoma ruled, Nader said.
Aldermen voted, 8-0, in favor of the new ordinance. Nader said he will hold a mayor's public hearing on the legislation Aug. 18 and indicate if he will sign it.
Several city residents, including Otsego County Rep. Kay Stuligross, spoke in favor of the measure.
However, mayoral candidate and State University College at Oneonta student Jason Corrigan said the new ordinance was discriminatory and likely unconstitutional.
The city established a limit on unrelated people allowed to live in individual housing units when it instituted zoning in 1975.
A single-dwelling unit with four or more unrelated residents was considered a boarding house under Oneonta's zoning laws and was forbidden in the section of the city subject to the recent court case.
City officials have said the purpose of such restrictions was designed to preserve the quality of life in city neighborhoods.
The new ordinance will institute a process by which four or more unrelated people may petition the city Zoning Board of Appeals and present evidence that the residents meet the city's criteria defining a functional family.
The criteria include whether the members of a household have the same addresses for voter registration, driver's licenses, motor-vehicle registration and other purposes.
It also includes whether they commonly own furniture and appliances; enroll their children, if any, in local schools; are employed in the local area; and other factors.
The new ordinance has a provision that tenants are individuals and not a family unit if their lease or rental agreement holds any parent or relative as a guarantor of the lease; if the lease or rental agreement makes the rent payable in advance for a period of time consistent with the semester schedule of local colleges; and if the lease or rental agreement makes each occupant jointly and severally liable for the performance of the lease.
Corrigan said the provisions that would denote if individual tenants are a family could lead to discrimination and lead to additional lawsuits.
Instead of this measure, Corrigan said, the city should focus its efforts on improving cooperation among City Hall, college administration and city and college law enforcement.
