ONEONTA _ Three of the city's six Greek houses with special-use permits valid for the fall semester have not met deadlines for renewal.
The State University College at Oneonta and Hartwick College are now on winter break.
To function as a Greek house in the city and have more than three unrelated occupants, a fraternity or sorority must have a permit. The group must have a certificate of compliance _ required by the city for all residential rental properties and showing various building inspections have occurred _ to obtain the permit.
Five of the six houses that were recognized as such for the fall semester are Hartwick College groups.
Last week, the Common Council approved one-year permits for the Gamma Phi sorority at 23 Elm St. and the Alpha Omicron Pi sorority at 17 Maple St.
Aldermen tabled a permit application from the Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity at 61 Elm St. after hearing from nearby residents about noise and other issues at the house.
"To be very honest, (Tau Kappa Epsilon) had neighbors who had never had any objections before submit written objections to the council," Mayor John Nader said.
Two other Greek groups now have expired permits. They include the Alpha Delta Omega fraternity at 62 Elm St. and the Phi Sigma Phi sorority at 6 Myrtle Ave. Their permits expired Dec. 2.
The only SUNY Oneonta group that has a recognized Greek house, the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity, has a permit for 56 Maple St. that does not expire until May 5.
Nader said he has asked Code Enforcement Officer Robert Chiappisi to meet with City Attorney David Merzig and City Prosecutor Michael Getman to determine what the city's options are.
Nader said the Greek groups that have not yet had their permits renewed did not submit renewal applications or had incomplete paperwork.
The following are the conditions of a special-use permit for a Greek house:
The premises must have a certificate of substantial compliance and be current on all required inspections. All code violations must be immediately corrected.
The group must have monthly fire-safety inspections conducted by a qualified, non-resident adult.
Each group member must learn and implement the college and chapter's risk-management policies, especially regarding alcohol, personal and fire-safety issues.
The group must meet with the Oneonta Police Department and the Oneonta Fire Department for an educational session during September.
The Greek organization must provide neighbors with the phone numbers of group officers, resident advisers and college liaisons.
The group must initiate the special-use permit process by getting an application from the city clerk's office no later than Sept. 14 and file the application by Oct. 15.
There are no Common Council, committee or citizen boards or commissions meetings at City Hall scheduled for this week.
