approved university accountability ordinance - changes tracked — File 198419

CITY OF SOMERVILLE ORDINANCE NO. 2015-____ In Board of Aldermen__________ Be it ordained by the Board of Aldermen, in session assembled, that the Code of Ordinances of the City of Somerville is amended by adding the following provisions to the Code of Ordinances of the City of Somerville: ORDINANCE REGULATING UNIVERSITY ACCOUNTABILITY Section I Definitions. Unless specifically indicated otherwise, these definitions shall apply and control in this ordinance. a. City means the City of Somerville. b. Directory means the compilation of names, addresses, telephone numbers, statuses, and expected graduation dates gathered by a School in compliance with these sections. c. School means any post-secondary educational institution that provides individuals with a degree or certification upon completion of a curriculum and owns or leases property within the City that houses students at that School. d. Student means any person who is enrolled in the School, whether full-time or part- time. e. Campus means any real property owned by a School. 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 in any part of the City of Somerville shall collect and maintain a a Directory of the names, complete addresses, statuses (i.e. undergraduate or graduate, part-time or full time), expected graduation dates, and telephone numbers of all Students enrolled at the School. In addition, the School shall collect and maintain a list of all properties currently owned, leased, rented, or operated by the School for use as students residences. The addresses and telephone numbers collected for the purposes of these sections must reflect where the Student actually resides locally 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 publicizing to their students the limitations of the City of Somerville’s zoning ordinance which limit occupancy to not more than four (4) unrelated individuals. The Inspectional Services Division shall be responsible for monitoring information provided to the City and enforcing the City's Zoning Ordinance applicable regulations with regards to the ordinance’s definition of the term "family" contained in section 2.2.53, which limits the occupancy of dwelling units in the City to not more than 4 unrelated individuals. Upon determining that any student's residence violates the ordinance, the Inspectional Services Division is responsible for enforcing the 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) An anonymous breakdown of the 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, organized by address and unit number, and also including zip code, student status (i.e. undergraduate or graduate, part-time or full-time) and expected graduation date; the breakdown shall further include, from the following list, the type of off-campus housing each Student resides in:

(i) Property owned, leased, rented, or operated by the School; (ii) the home of a family member; or (iii) other private housing, and (e) a complete list of the addresses of all properties currently owned, leased, rented, or operated by the School at which Students are housed. 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 Violation: It is unlawful for any school to fail to comply with the requirements of this section. The provisions of this section may be enforced by the Superintendent of Inspectional Services by a noncriminal disposition pursuant to G.L. c. 40, § 21D. Each violation of a provision of this section is a separate and distinct offense, and in a case of a continuing violation, each day that a violation continues constitutes a separate offense. Any School violating any provision of this section shall be punished in accordance with Section 1-11 of this Code. The imposition of penalties herein prescribed shall not preclude the City from instituting other remedies to abate violations of this ordinance as permitted by law. Be it further ordained that section 1-11(b) of the code of Ordinances is hereby amended by adding the following: Offense Fine Enforcing Personnel University Accountability Ordinance 1st and subsequent offense: $300.00 Inspectional services . __________________________ President Board of Aldermen