City party ordinance to be voted on at March 8 meeting

Graphic by Megan Abba

Neighbors, students and administrators are not entirely satisfied with the outcome of a Feb. 9 City Council meeting, in which Chapman issues, including party ordinances, parking and zoning restrictions on student residences, were discussed.

Despite the fact that 18 percent of noise complaint calls from July to December 2015 were attributed to Chapman students, according to Chief Robert Gustafson of the Orange Police Department, neighbors say that the minority of Chapman students still cause major problems. The city council will take its first vote of a more stringent party ordinance at its meeting March 8.

“About two or three weeks ago, (my wife and I) were watching Chapman students pull their pants down and literally urinate in the front yard, which is really sad,” said Adam Duberstein, an Orange resident who spoke during the February City Council meeting.

Harold Hewitt, Chapman’s executive vice president and CEO

“We understand that’s not representative of Chapman and their wonderful students, but it’s becoming a much bigger issue for the homeowners and residents,” Duberstein said.

Occurrences like these have compelled residents to call upon Chapman to assist in controlling its students, resulting in a change to nuisance ordinances that would be more punitive to all attendees, rather than just the hosts of the party.

“The current ordinance says that there’s only a 72-hour window to constitute a repeat offense,” said Harold Hewitt, Chapman’s executive vice president and CEO. “People are realizing that’s not enough time. Our students are smart, they understand what the code is, so they wait.”

Part of the party ordinance initiative is to extend the period of time in which a repeat offense can be issued to a full year, Hewitt said. Because the average home lease is a year, this would cause students who accrue repeat offenses in that time period to incur significant fines.

Despite criticism, Chapman’s recent efforts to strive toward community harmony have drawn a positive reaction from local residents.

Brian Lochrie, an Old Towne resident and business owner, appreciates Chapman’s willingness to address complaints.

“I think the issues are being handled very well. I’m glad to see the university is stepping up and facing this issue head on,” Lochrie said. “I think (the new initiatives) are positive changes, and I’m glad to see that the city council is working with the community.”

Helen Garcia, a freshman biochemistry major and student government freshman class senator, is also positive and can understand both sides of the issue.

“I’d say that it just takes a lot of time to mend the relationship between the campus and community,” she said. “Residents who have been living here for 50-plus years are seeing more changes than newer neighbors, so I can see where they fall, and where students fall also.”

However, the divisive relationship between the community and students is not where the issues end. Until the party and zoning ordinances have been finalized, neighbors have indicated that they will continue to resist Chapman’s planned expansion, Hewitt said.

“Hashinger (Science Center) was constructed in the 1960s – it’s our only location for science. We’re recruiting world-class faculty for science, which is recruiting more STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) students for Chapman,” Hewitt said. “If we can’t get the support from the city to be able to develop, it will go to the heart of the future Chapman University. It will limit our ability to expand.”

Similarly, some students believe that residents aren’t viewing the issue holistically.

“To be honest, I understand having respect (for the residents), but the (residents) should be aware that it is a college campus, and by default, a college town,” said Courtney Molina, a freshman health science major.

Although neighbors are publicly positive toward the changes that the city council is making, Chapman administration is still apprehensive.

“I’m deeply concerned,” Hewitt said. “The city is considering the strongest measures I’ve ever heard them talk about.”

Hewitt said he’s worried about the highly punitive measures negatively affecting students’ permanent records.

“Nobody in leadership wants to see students’ records irrevocably marred. I’d be very sad if (the ordinances) altered the course of someone’s life,” Hewitt said. “I suspect that this will be a very difficult avenue.”