Some Real Estate Law.

St. Johns University plans to build off campus dormitories in a quiet neighborhood in Jamaica Estates. It will be a six story high building that can house up to 485 beds. The community is in uproar over this. They believe that this will disrupt the tranquility they have in their neighborhood. There are many who oppose the construction of these dormitories. St. Johns further claims that they are only leasing the property and that it is being developed solely by private developers.
The main objection to this project here is the zoning laws. The neighborhood is made up of small single family homes. Councilman Tony Avella and James Gennaro are two of the main opponents of the plans. They denounce the use of the loophole that allows student dormitories to be considered “community facilities.” Using this loophole the building can be significantly larger than what it’s originally zoned for. They call for a reform in these areas and that St. John's University is exploiting the system.
The community facilities are made up of three different categories. The one in which St. John’s plans fall under are the “auxiliary community facilities”. They include the uses which support local or community services. For example college dormitories, parish houses and convents that could not function without these things.
The opposition of the neighborhood comes from the many damaging affects that the dorm could have in such an area. They fear that the university will not be able to control the students living there. There is evidence to support this because of the statistics of law violations in SJU. In the last three years there has been “735 liquor-law violations, 106 drug-law violations, 84 burglaries, four forcible sex offenses and one arson” on the campus. There is also the concern for all the new traffic this will cause in the area. They claim that the sewer system in the area will not be capable of handling the addition of this new building.
St. Johns claims that this is a campus necessity; it will provide more safe housing for their students. They will provide 80 underground parking spots under the building and claim that this will help not disrupt traffic in the area. Because there will be less spots available that students who will be living there, the university proposes a shuttle service to and from the university. There is also opposition to this is that these buses will cause a disruption of the daily lives of current residents.My opinion on this is that the university has the right to be building in this area. It is in compliance with zoning laws because it falls under being a community facility. This is something that the university needs to do to compensate for its expanding number of students. The exemption to the zoning law is a good thing because buildings like these are necessary to the parties involved.