Three Southern Methodist University students can’t live together in University Park without violating what’s known as the "brothel law." But residents say the city isn’t enforcing it’s own ordinance.
Residents of Rosedale Avenue, Asbury Avenue, and Milton Avenue have petitioned the city of University Park since fall alleging that SMU students are violating the city’s zoning ordinance. The petition urges the city to enforce the ordinance and evict violators to discourage future violations.
The ordinance bans more than two unrelated residents from living in the same housing unit. It purportedly was enacted in 1973 to prevent issues with parking and trash.
It's not uncommon for multiple SMU students to live together in University Park. Students say it's a way to live close to campus while saving money in a high cost of living area. Some students say that getting housing on-campus can be problematic as well.
Several residents who spoke at the University Park city council meeting on Tuesday said students are violating the city's ordinance and causing problems.
“On a windy day, it is very frequent that we have trash in our backyard pool,” Nassi Agouridis said.
Agouridis’ wife, Leslie, filed one of the petitions about a duplex on Rosedale Ave. In the fall of 2021, multiple duplexes in the area were sued, but the duplex on Rosedale was left out of the suit.
Leslie Agouridis said one of the student tenants who lived in the duplex said, “we don’t know how we can get away with living here when those apartments can’t.”
Jessica Rees, the city planner for University Park, said the ordinance is difficult to enforce.
“They think they’re breaking the violation of not more than two unrelated, which it’s hard for us to even prove that,” Rees said.
Lee Gleiser, an SMU professor who lives on Asbury Avenue, filed a lawsuit against the city in 2021 over the ordinance. Gleiser said students living near her committed multiple violations — including an incident that involved a student urinated on his front lawn in front of her and her husband.
Gleiser said the students who violated the ordinance were later evicted. She said the city later filed its own suit against some other duplexes on Rosedale Ave. using research from the case she filed.
The unit listed in the petition wasn’t included in the city’s suit.
“All of our problems that we had are all in Rosedale,” Gleiser said.
Frist Allen, an SMU alumni who lived in off-campus housing, said he’s confused why houses like the one he and his fraternity brothers lived in are built in University Park if it has an ordinance banning multiple students living together.
He said the homes are tailored to SMU students who want to live with their friends off campus.
“It wasn’t built for a family,” Allen said. “It was clearly built for students. I mean, there’s not even a proper place for a dining room.”
The University Park city council didn’t hear from SMU students who live in University Park — Rees said it was unlikely they were aware of the meeting. All of the speakers at meeting were local residents.
“An interesting side of the conversation that I don’t think has been had has been hearing from [students]” Rees said. “I don’t think [their] side of it has ever really been represented.”
The University Park city council listened to public comments but took no action on the ordinance. The issue is expected to be on a future city council agenda.
Southern Methodist University journalism students and KERA are collaborating on a series of stories that explore challenges college students are facing in finding affordable housing while universities scramble for more living spaces to meet the diverse needs of growing enrollments.
