We at the BG News feel that the R-1 and R-2 zoning laws do not serve the community well because they are outdated, and are unfair to the students who have agreed to make Bowling Green their home.

When the basic rule of no more than three unrelated people living together continues to be enforced, many students living in off-campus houses will need to find another place to live. There are a finite number of apartment buildings within a reasonable distance of campus, and the landlords of those properties could use the leverage of supply and demand to raise prices even more.

For the students who are allowed to remain at the houses, they may not be able to afford the rent now that three or fewer tenants are living there, and they will soon face a housing problem.

Both the city of Bowling Green and BGSU may each take a significant financial hit if this situation is not resolved with student’s best interests in mind.

Within a few years word may begin to spread to prospective seniors in Ohio high schools that the off-campus housing situation at Bowling Green State University is both too complicated and expensive for students to bother with.

This type of negativity spread by word-of-mouth could cause a decline in attendance numbers at BGSU, costing the University as well as the city’s businesses a lot of money.

Additionally, if more students are required to live farther away from campus, they will most likely have to use a car to get to school. This will only inflame the parking troubles that students are dealing with everyday.

We understand that when the houses in the Bentwood Subdivision were built it was with the understanding that they would be single-family homes. However, they house students and only students in the area.

Therefore, we feel that the zoning ordinance should be adjusted to allow more than three people to live together.

It is unreasonable to expect three college students to be able to afford rent in houses. Many of the rental homes in Bowling Green also have more than three bedrooms.

Landlords can’t expect only three college students to pay for a property where much of the house goes unused.

It is clearly evident that if the R-1 and R-2 zoning laws are not updated for a 21st century college town, both the University and the city of Bowling Green will see a negative impact in the coming years.