By Brandon Farmer

Overcrowding in student neighborhoods has the Lexington Town and Gown Commission considering changes in student housing regulations.

At the meeting on Wednesday, the committee discussed the problem of converting single-family houses into numerous-occupancy apartment complexes.

Because the streets were designed to house only light-density homes, there have been problems with parking, garbage and noise amongst the non-student residents. Diane Lawless, 3rd District councilwoman, expressed her concern on the issue.

“Density is one of the primary problems. … If there were three students in what would be a two-student home, as opposed to 12 or 14, then it wouldn’t pose a problem,” she said.

Mark Meuser, a neighborhood representative and crafter of the Student Housing Task Force Report, proposed implementing ‘buffer zones,’ or non-student residences between each student-populated house.

“The goal is to never have students living next to each other; there needs to be a space for buffering,” Meuser said. “Students respond to how adults around them are acting.”

Student Government President Ryan Smith disagreed with Meuser’s proposition, saying this plan only alientated students.

“You’re pushing students further away from campus and there’s going to be a problem,” Smith said.

The committee passed the motion to send their general support of the proposed update to the planning committee. The next meeting that will be primarily concerned with the Student Housing Task Force Report will be held Tuesday.

Andrew Smith, director of Alcohol and Health Education, attended the meeting to discuss students and alcohol consumption. He said he was approaching the issue realistically and wanted to ensure student safety when it comes to alcohol.

“I don’t operate under the premise that I’m trying to keep students from drinking. … We want to make sure that our students are safe if they drink at higher levels,” he said.

Another cause of concern brought up during the meeting were the policies surrounding football game days at UK. Lexington Police Chief Ronnie Bastin said police are prepared for game days this season and will have stricter parking enforcement and greater vigilance regarding alcohol in the stadium.

“The plan is to let people know that open containers are not allowed in the stadium,” Bastin said. “Our folks will be looking at intoxication levels of people who will be crossing our areas.”

Bastin also said he was concerned with illegal parking around the stadium. The police chief said in earlier seasons illegal parking created great hazard to pedestrians and emergency vehicles. In the past, the officers would warn people and ask them to move, but this year may be different.

“We’re going to be in those areas … we will be citing, we will be enforcing,” Bastin said.