“We had cases of students urinating on another neighbor’s bushes or yelling and screaming, bonfires in their yards,” says Arthur Lichtenberger, president of the Lewis Mountain Neighborhood Association, “but that’s the exception.”
By and large, the UVA kids living off-campus in that neighborhood are not a major bother, he says, a point of view echoed by Jeanne Chase over in the Fry’s Spring neighborhood, where she is secretary of the neighborhood association, though she can point to student houses with messy lawns and piled-up garbage.
“Students need to respect the community in which they live,” she says. For the Fry’s Spring neighborhood, leaf collection is vital to avoid drainage problems. “If a resident has to be reported because of tall grass, leaves causing to clog unnecessary drains, it becomes problematic for all neighbors,” says Chase.
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Unappealing detritus from hard-partying, chore-slacking students is one of the only complaints from neighbors. |
At UVA, the most common complaint is noise: loud music, partying and heavy car and foot traffic at all hours of the night. Trash and property maintenance follow closely.
UVA’s Community Relations Office works with neighborhood associations that border the University, and created the Good Neighbor Guide for students who rent off-campus housing after neighbors complained about some problems. Sample advice for students: Keep noises below 55 decibels as per City of Charlottesville ordinance, collect trash, cut grass and promote recycling.
“In the last few years, the University has really improved how they interact with neighborhoods in dealing with such students, working with us, opening up the judicial system, helping us understand that system,” says Lichtenberger.
Although students who live off-Grounds tend to have more freedom, they are still subject to the University Judiciary Committee as well as city and University police. UVA police patrol the streets around the University and alert city police if they think students are violating any city code or ordinance.
“We help control the situation,” says Captain Mike Coleman with UVA Police. The University police department can only assist the city in hostile situations, because it is outside of their general jurisdiction. “It’s ultimately a city’s responsibility,” says Coleman.
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