This past Thursday, the City of Binghamton held a public hearing to discuss Code of Ordinance amendments regarding student housing.

Held at Binghamton City Hall, the hearing covered various matters regarding changes to zoning legislation, including amendments to student housing zones and the city’s proposal to amend zones that allow congregate student housing. Attendees at the hearing included City Council members from districts 1 through district 3, as well as a variety of community members.

The amendment, proposed by the Department of Planning and written up by Tito Martinez, assistant director of planning, explained the change in student congregate living.

“The Planning Department has proposed legislation to amend the definition of ‘Family’ in the zoning ordinance, so that a group of four or more college students shall not be considered a family,” the amendment reads. “This means that in residential zoning districts, dwelling units may not be occupied by four or more students, except for the R-3 zoning districts, where Congregate Living is a permitted use.”

Binghamton University students and local residents were also present at the hearing, as well as landlords who took to the stand to express their concerns regarding the amendments to the legislation. One speaker, Benjamin Holloway, a senior majoring in business administration, discussed possible ramifications of the amendment for students living off campus.

“There will be people who decide where to go to college, whether it’s [BU], [SUNY Geneseo,] [or] [SUNY Cortland], based on what their four years are going to look like,” Holloway said. “With so much of the college experience being situated here, as shown that most students spend two to three years living off campus, at least some economic assessment needs to be done with the impact of student housing.”

Holloway went on to describe the potential economic impact of changing student housing zones, with a focus on business in the City of Binghamton.

“Between housing, medical advice, hardware, supplies, groceries, you name it, we spend [money] here,” Holloway said. “If it wasn’t for the local restaurants, food shops, bars, all that, we would have nothing here either. To me, there’s always been a symbiotic relationship between the city and the students itself. Seeing a decline in students living in these areas, we’ll see a decline in people spending money here.”

Other concerns about the new amendments to the housing legislation included the timing of this legislation. Mark Liscia, owner of Binghamton West, a housing company based in Binghamton, suggested that the current student housing protocol makes the timing of the legislation a concern.

“Students have mostly found and secured their housing for the 2023 to 2024 school year,” Liscia said. “Students always begin their housing search when they arrive in school in September, for the following school year. We’re already 80 percent pre-leased. Problems that arise may be [that] students who already chose housing might end up next year in housing that’s not approved. Will students try to break leases because of this?”

Apart from the voices of concern among students and landlords, some residents of Binghamton expressed their approval of the new legislation.

As the hearing came to an end, Teri Rennia, a homeowner and resident of Binghamton, left attendees with her feelings on the legislation.

“The stakeholders were at the table when this law was being written up, including the students and landlords like Mark Liscia,” Rennia said. “This law seems to be just catering toward landlords.”