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Fort Collins laws unfairly penalize students

This Web-only Speakout has not been edited.

By Dolores Williams

Published May 16, 2008 at 6 a.m.

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The city of Fort Collins’ noise ordinance fine starts at $1,000, but nobody seems to know that the City Council mandates that the criminal record stays on the individual’s record for seven years. So upon graduating, when a future employer or landlord accesses the criminal and credit records, a red flag sits lowering one’s chances at a job requiring an identity clearance, a place to live, or purchase of insurance.

The police officer has discretion as to loudness (no decibel measurement is specified) and time of day. A recent experience of two tenants, one “party” of friends sending off a CSU graduate to the Peace Corps, was breaking up and most had left for downtown. Officer wrote up that he “broke up the party.” He went next door (a duplex) where six adults were visiting and wrote a ticket that he “broke up that party.” Upon checking with three nearby neighbors, nobody was bothered by noise. It is understandable that an officer may want to show a few tickets for a night’s work, but if the violation was civil instead of criminal, less harm could result.

Upon checking with members of City Council, they are surprised that the violation was not made civil along with other ordinances.

However, not one council member said he or she would fix the problem. I wrote CSU President Larry Penley asking him to show his interest in city treatment of his students. His assistant suggested I contact the ACLU. I asked his assistant if he would write a short letter to the city but the request was refused. I wrote Doug Johnson, UniverCity Connections, who supposedly is interested in CSU-city cooperation in return for many hours of student volunteer work from Cans Around the Oval to assistance to teachers in Poudre R-1 and volunteer clean-up days in the community. No interest. I wrote David May, director of the Chamber of Commerce, knowing that he sells a “university town” and “educated work force” to entice companies to come here to provide jobs. No interest.

I talked with Police Chief Harrison, and he feels that a criminal record is not a problem when he hires policemen. The City Neighborhood Office which administers the ticket program is aware of the criminal records given for noise violations, but they don’t want to rock the boat. The criminal-industrial complex in the United States houses one in 100 in jails at $100 per day thanks to attitudes like this.

Yesterday I asked personally some of the city officers who came to the CSU-council meeting if they would change the noise violation from criminal to civil, as I have suggested by letter and e-mail several times already. I also asked why, if the city was for affordable housing and minimizing air pollution from vehicle trips to the university, it was penalizing CSU students and their landlords by forcing them to leave empty a fourth (or more) bedroom in a house while paying rent and utilities on the whole house. Landlords are not allowed reimbursement on their property taxes because of forced vacant rooms, which is illegal considering real estate law of “takings” like when a governmental agency needs to cut a road through a property by reimbursing the landowner for the portion “taken.”

Granted, a few young people (not all students) have been inconsiderate of their neighbors, prompting the city to write the noise ordinance and three unrelated laws. Penalizing all students and young people seems unfair. Students bring a lot of money to town and volunteer in the community. They should instead spend time on studies and homework until the City Council sees fit to change the laws to make housing costs more affordable and to not hinder their future employment which is needed to pay back the student loans.

Dolores Williams is a resident of Fort Collins.

Comments

  • May 16, 2008

    7:45 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    Lowtaxequalsfreedom writes:

    Oh the lovely criminal record. The punishment that keeps on giving and giving and giving and giving and giving and giving and giving and giving.

  • May 17, 2008

    5:32 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    roger44 writes:

    Police don't make the laws, just enforce them. I will assume this law applies to all residents of the area so how is it unfair to students?

  • May 18, 2008

    1:58 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    gary writes:

    Do the crime...pay the price. That all there is to it lady!!

    Gee..those poor innocent students. Fort Collins should let them burn couchs in the streets without ticketing them too.

    Get a life lady!

    Nuff Said