Yikes! Housemates illegal? We have a lot of work to do. In March 2013, (Link to article no longer available.) the city council of Watertown, NY voted three to two to make having housemates illegal. Clearly this is something I don’t agree with. There are many benefits to sharing housing that can improve a community as a whole!
Prejudice Against Sharing Housing
I fear that the vote represents a very narrow perspective on who might have people who are unrelated living with them. I’m sure that the City Council wasn’t thinking of retired and widowed seniors who might choose to have a housemate for companionship, help with tasks, and some additional cash. Nor were they considering single parents for whom joining up to share a roof offers some amazing benefits for them and their children. To say nothing of working single people who might simply like to have company at home.
There is a prejudice afoot in this country that sharing housing is somehow an option only for the people who might be “undesirable.” In this case, the city council decided to enforce housing zoning to be only for single families.
I hope that they change this ruling which shows prejudice. What do you think? Do you know of zoning ordinances or laws that make sharing housing illegal? How should we respond?
A Record of the Meeting
The Ordinance “Amending the Code of the City of Watertown, §310-34, Accessory Uses in Residence Districts” (Introduced on 12/17/2012; public hearing held this evening; appears in its entirety on page 320-321 of the 2012 Minutes Book).
Council Member Smith indicated that changing this had nothing to do with race, orientation or discrimination. He stated that it is about what a Residential A neighborhood is and that people expect it to consist of single family homes. He added that zoning defines a neighborhood and its character.
Council Member Macaluso mentioned that she takes issue with the Council determining who is allowed to live with whom in the City. She said that this case is a bunch of friends living together and does not see that any different than a family.
Council Member Burns commented that it is not a matter of who lives there but more the number of people that live in the house. She said that she does not see this as Council deciding what constitutes a family. She noted that the people that signed the petition felt that they purchased property for single family residences. Regarding the Planning Board’s recommendations, she stated that she would support passing this.
Council Member Butler indicated that this is a tough decision but the reason why there are differently zoned residences is because they have distinguishing characteristics. He said that when multiple uses are allowed in these zones then the lines of distinction start to blur.
The Vote
At the call of the chair, a vote was taken on the foregoing ordinance and carried with all voting yea except Council Member Teresa R. Macaluso and Mayor Jeffrey E. Graham voting nay.
Read more about Shared Housing and society: Sharing home with other adults? Remodel to Keep Peace , Going Solo—”Surprising Appeal of Living Alone”—Really?
I believe that they backed down, though in a quick internet search I didn’t find evidence of it. Still one might be surprised by the actual zoning regs that exist that might discriminate. There’s a shared housing situation in Hartford where two families bought a huge mansion in an elegant part of town. Unrelated people living together is not legal, BUT having servants is. Here’s a blurb on it: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/hartford-connecticut-11-live-in-single-family-home-could-be-forced-out/.
Work to be done for sure.
This has to be more about the greedy banking industry, who wants people to have to buy or rent homes separately so they can make more money. People have been sharing homes for years. Since up to recently people who were same-sex partners were forced to live together with the partner they loved, without the benefit of marriage, this may have been an attempt to stop members of the gay community from living under the same roof as well.
I would think this law would be considered unconstitutional. For people to choose who they want to live with, is a basic human right. I don’t care whether they are seniors who have been displaced by divorce, or gays, or heterosexual young adults who don’t want to live with Mom and Dad, but want to strike out on their own and live like real adults instead of adult children. This ruling should be easy to bring down. Has anyone tried to present this stupid ruling to a higher court?
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I know kinda amazing, isn’t it?