Agenda Text
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Proposing an amendment to the City's Ordinances to regulate University Accountability.
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Official Text
ORDINANCE REGULATING UNIVERSITY ACCOUNTABILITY
Section I Definitions.
Unless specifically indicated otherwise, these definitions shall apply and control in CBC 10-10.
a. City means the City of Somerville.
b. Directory means the compilation of names, addresses, and telephone numbers gathered by a School in compliance with these sections.
c. School means any post-secondary educational institution that provides students with a degree or certification upon completion of a curriculum and owns property within the City.
d. Student means any person who is enrolled in more than half the minimum credits necessary for full-time status, as defined by the college or university at which the Student is enrolled.
Section II Purpose.
Many students live within the campuses of their respective universities and colleges. These students receive the benefit of their school's security or campus police services in addition to the City's police services. Because the schools know where their on-campus students live, the schools are better positioned to provide the security and regulation enforcement services necessary to protect students and property in these on-campus regions.
Many other students, however, live outside the campuses of their respective universities and colleges. When schools do not know where their off-campus students live, it is more difficult to assess and satisfy off-campus security and regulatory enforcement needs. Therefore, it is essential for schools within the City to collect and maintain records of the locally residing off-campus student population to better assist the City in its provision of security and regulatory enforcement services for residents of the City.
Section III Collection of Records - Directory.
Each and every School within the City shall for each student enrolled at the School collect and maintain a Directory which shall consist of the following: the names, complete addresses at which the student is residing during the academic year, the telephone number, status of student (graduate or undergraduate) and expected graduation date. In addition, the School shall provide a list of all properties currently rented by the School for use as student residences under any type of rental agreement. In addition to any other information collected by the School, the addresses and telephone numbers collected for the purposes of these sections must reflect where the Student actually resides and at what phone number the Student can be reached for the period in which the Student resides in the City.
Each and every School shall collect the required Directory information no less than twice each calendar year such that any School on a semester system shall collect and update the required Directory information no later than thirty (30) calendar days following the first day of each semester, and any School on a quarterly system shall collect and update the required Directory information no later than thirty (30) calendar days following the first day of the first quarter of each academic year, and every alternating quarter of the academic year thereafter.
Upon collection, all information collected for the Directory shall be organized and maintained by the School in such a way that the required information is easily accessible and understandable to any authorized School official.
All schools shall be responsible for monitoring this Directory for compliance with the City's Zoning Code's applicable use regulations with regards to the Code's definition of the term "family", which limits the occupancy of dwelling units in the City to not more than 4 unrelated individuals. Upon determining that any student's residence may be in violation of the Code, the school shall notify the student(s) of the Code regulation and the possibility that the student's occupancy of the dwelling may be in violation of the City's zoning ordinance.
Section IV. Report and Statistics Supplied to the City
Each and every School shall supply a report with required statistics to the City. This report shall be based on the most current information in the Directory. The information in the report shall be compiled by the School within forty-five (45) calendar days of the beginning of each semester or quarter that information is gathered. The report required by this section shall include, but not be limited to, (a) the total number of Students enrolled at the School as of the date of collection of the Directory information, (b) the total number of Students enrolled at the School as of the date of collection of the Directory information that reside on the campus of the School, (c) the total number of Students enrolled at the School as of the date of collection of the Directory information that reside off the campus of the School in the City, (d) a breakdown of the number of Students enrolled at the School as of the date of collection of the Directory information that reside off-campus aggregated by each address at which a Student or Students reside, (e) a complete list of the addresses of all properties currently owned, leased, rented, or operated by the School at which Students are housed, and (f) the number of possible violations discovered pursuant to Section III listed by address.
Each and every School shall forward, within forty-five (45) calendar days of the beginning of each semester or quarter that information is gathered, the report required by this section to the Clerk of the City and the Clerk shall forward the report to the Mayor of the City and the Superintendent of the Office of Inspectional Services. The Clerk also shall docket the report and include the docket on the agenda of the next-occurring meeting of the Board of Aldermen. The failure or refusal of a School to forward the report shall be deemed an event of non-compliance with the provisions of these sections.
NOTE: See #198419 for the approved text of this Ordinance.