Since his unanimous election as Boston City Council president in January, Mike Ross (Back Bay, Beacon Hill, Fenway, Mission Hill) has continued work on initiatives some Boston University students said do not provide the ‘excellent constituent services’ his website promises.
Ross, a Boston University alumnus, has pursued initiatives he began long before becoming president this semester. The top two goals he lists on his website are making Boston housing more affordable with the ‘no more than four’ student zoning rule and renovating the Boston Common.
Ross co-sponsored the original zoning ordinance, which limits the number of undergraduate students allowed to live in an off-campus apartment to four. It was passed unanimously by the Boston Zoning Commission in March 2008.
He took the legislation a step further when he proposed a new ordinance in February that would require universities to release student addresses as part of the already existing ‘University Accountability Report,’ which provides the number of students living on and off-campus to the Inspectional Services Department, The Daily Free Press reported.
‘We know that the vast majority of students are looking for nothing more than an affordable place to sleep and eat,’ Ross wrote in Boston Daily, Boston Magazine’s blog, soon after his proposal. ‘But when thousands of students converge on a small neighborhood, some will party until all hours of the night, leave trash everywhere, urinate on lawns, vandalize cars, provide alcohol for minors, and show no concern for the community.’
College of Arts and Sciences sophomore Allison Glass said she is offended by the continued push for the law because not all students are rowdy.
‘Ross should focus more on making Boston a better place to live by looking into bike lanes, T expenses and reconciling the relationship between Boston citizens and students,’ Glass said.
Ross has also faced legal challenges from universities in his attempts to enforce the policy. At a Boston City Council meeting in March, university officials said his proposal would violate the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, The Daily Free Press reported.
BU spokesman Colin Riley said the only way BU would provide information about students to law enforcement is through a lawfully issued request.
‘We do not dispense information in general without it meeting the legal requirements to do so,’ he said.
Boston’s Inspectional Services Division, responsible for enforcement of the ‘no more than four’ law, told city councilors they had not yet received any calls about landlords violating the rule, The Daily Free Press reported in March.
‘We’re still working on the kinks on that one,’ Ross’s spokeswoman Amy Derjue said. ‘We’re working on how to enforce it and make sure the landlords are not destroying our communities anymore.’
As chairman of the Special Committee on Boston Common, Ross is also attempting to make America’s oldest park ‘more attractive,’ according to his website.
The City Council originally called for a private conservancy for the park but abandoned that idea after public opposition. Instead, a call was issued to private donors for renovations, The Daily Free Press reported in January. The committee also proposed incorporating restaurants into the park amongst other plans in the proposals.
‘ ‘It’s a long process,’ Derjue said. ‘Bringing in a restaurant involves permitting and working with the mayor’s office to make sure everyone’s interests are met. We have confidence it will become a more vibrant and exciting place.’
Some students said Boston Common renovations are taking the focus off more important issues.
‘Before the Boston Common, you should renovate the T system so it doesn’t f— us over,’ College of Arts and Sciences sophomore Jeeyoung Mock said. ‘It’s such an old system.’
Other efforts that Ross supports include City-Councilor-At-Large John Connolly’s bike-share system proposal and the survival of The Boston Globe, Derjue said.
Most recently, Ross was spotted at the rally in support of The Globe on Friday.
‘He wanted to voice his support,’ Derjue said.
Ross does not have any current plans for further legislation concerning undergraduate students, Derjue said. However, he is looking to keep more students in Boston after they graduate.
‘We’re always willing to hear from students about what they want the City Council to do,’ she said.
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