http://www.manassasjm.com/servlet/Satel ... path=!news

County taking 'wait and see' approach


By KEITH WALKER
kwalker@potomacnews.com
Tuesday, January 10, 2006


What do you think?

RELATED Zoning enforcement on hold

If Prince William County adopts a new law to prevent overcrowding in area homes, it won't have the word consanguinity in it.

"We're going to use words I can spell," said Prince William Board of County Supervisors Chairman Sean T. Connaughton, R-at large.

Last month, the Manassas City Council amended a city ordinance to define what a family is to try and prevent residential overcrowding.

The amendment defines a family as "two or more persons related to the second degree of collateral consanguinity" plus one non-related person, despite the home's legal occupancy limit.

After the City of Manassas passed its amendment, the Prince William Board of County Supervisors asked the county staff to examine the possibility of a similar ordinance for the county, and to study the legalities of such an ordinance.

The county is also studying a similar ordinance recently passed in Herndon, said Supervisor John Jenkins, D-Neabsco.

"We wanted them to craft a proposal change to our county ordinance that would define family, so that we could get a handle on the number of people living in a single-family home," said Jenkins, who has some overcrowding in his district.

Fair housing and civil rights groups got involved after Manassas passed the amendment.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia announced it was prepared to challenge the ordinance in court, calling it an "unconstitutional government infringement."

Jenkins said the brouhaha about the Manassas ordinance has the county supervisors somewhat wary.

"With the change that we have now and the status in Manassas, I think our position on it is going to be 'wait and see,' " Jenkins said.

Though they vary by neighborhood, the county has ordinances that govern how many people can live in a house with a given square-footage.

"Generally we say no more than three unrelated people in a household," Connaughton said.

Prince William County zoning officials enforce the code, Connaughton said.

When they find a house with numerous people living in it, they could issue tickets "then and there," but it's often hard to determine who is related, Connaughton said.

"I think what Manassas was doing was trying to come up with a better way to enforce current requirements," he said. "Everybody is looking for better enforcement tools when it comes to overcrowding."

Connaughton said the more pressing problem in the county is the conversion of single-family homes into apartment houses.

"We are seeing houses being put on the market where their ability to be converted into apartments is being touted," Connaughton said.


I am posting the comments on this article so you all can get the "feeling of the citizens in Manassas.

Posted on 01/11 at 09:13 AM
If anyone wonders why all the fuss about overcrowding, just drive down Lomond Drive in the evening and check out the driveways and LAWNS !!!!
concerned american

Posted on 01/11 at 05:19 AM
The fact that one people's displacement of another people has been going on for a great many millennia.The latinos have been with us since before the Revolution and more are coming. Study ancient history and get used to it.
tymltel

Posted on 01/11 at 05:19 AM
We live near (not in) Herndon. It's disturbing to have a once-quiet neighborhood become crowded, busy, and unfamiliar if lots of new people move into a small area nearby. I'd be unnerved too. But changes have to be made, and laws have to be written/implemented/interpreted, fairly. If a family of 5-6-+ can live in a tiny apartment, more can live in a SF house. Here's what I suggest: [see next post]
Ffx neighbor

Posted on 01/10 at 05:55 PM
This is really a silly law. Aren't there inspections codes that determine based on the sq. footage and number of room the max. number of people that can inhabit a home? The prejudism in some of the comments is totally uncalled for. Cultural awareness and tollerance is essential here people. But I digress. If such a law is implemente, it will deeply impact the less fortunate, low income people, so this is a factor that should be considered when comin up with such a policy
Juan

Posted on 01/10 at 05:55 PM
"I dont want a house of 20 illegals living next to me taking my parking spaces and bringing my house value down. Its not "racism"..." Comments like this make the discussion racist. In my neighborhood, we have Caucasian families living 12 in a townhome and Latino families of 4-6 in others. It's the white folks leaving their trash in the yard, hogging the parking spots, and drinking and fighting. I want to see MP and Man. pass enforcable laws to make single family homes for single families.
Manassas Park Mom

Posted on 01/10 at 05:53 PM
No governmental agency, group, or entity can define "family." Only individuals can define their "family." What right does a government agency have to legislate that only three non-related individuals can live under the same roof. A house of 2500 square feet of living space can accommodate more than three people - why should any of them have to be related? Occupancy should be based on square footage, not blood or DNA. I am estatic that the ACLU has chosen to monitor these antiquated codes.
civiliankim62

Posted on 01/10 at 05:53 PM
The problem with the houses being over crowded is that there is not enough space on the street to park all the cars. I've seen school buses having to back down the street because the overcrowding of cars, work vans, boats, etc on the street. Cars are parked on corners and under stop signs. I've had to back out on a main street more than onece because I couldn't turn down my street. The police ignore the illegally parked cars. Something has to be done!!
P

Posted on 01/10 at 05:53 PM
I agree with "j", the county was a much better place to live 20 years ago. I would be happy to have that pace back. As long as we can't, I believe that a housing unit should have number limits. The county needs get more folks on board in the enforcement area. I would gladly agree to public services that are onsidered "extras" to be closed for one weekday to pay for the staff (libraries, parks, ect...).
capri

Posted on 01/10 at 01:53 PM
As long as the law is applied equally, what is the problem? Do some people have a genetic predispostion to overcrowding? I wouldn't think so; they are in control of their behavior as much as anyone else is, and should be held accountable for it when it causes problems for other people, just as anyone else should be.
anonymous

Posted on 01/10 at 01:31 PM
Okay do we really care if people are related? The issue is the number of people in a household. I think that the focus should be on the number of people and the square footage of the house. I agree we need to do something! I will say that our family just moved because of the neighborhood falling apart. Code Enforcement does not do their job now,(unless you get your county supervisor involved) so how can they take on more????

Posted on 01/10 at 10:08 AM
The only reason that race is coming into this is because certain race groups are commonly creating this problem. I am sure if there were white people living 20 to a house they would enforce that law too. Race has nothing to do with the overcrowding of homes in PWC. While they are at it, how about an ordinance to not grow cornstalks in your front yard and enforce the ordinance not to have barnyard animals in the back yard!
Tired

Posted on 01/10 at 10:08 AM
I am sick and tired of the socialist ACLU bullying tactics. I dont want a house of 20 illegals living next to me taking my parking spaces and bringing my house value down. Its not "racism", its protecting the law abiding and tax paying LEGAL CITIZENS of this county. The county wasnt "backwater" ten years ago?? It was actually a better place to live 15-20 years ago in PWC than it is now. I didnt have to worry about my kids getting "jumped" by illegal MS13 gang members at school.
j

Posted on 01/10 at 10:08 AM
I think that the county should focus more on what is an acceptable number of people for a housing unit. Creating an ordinance based on who is family or not is making the county's enforcement agencies involved in issues where they doesn't belong. There are so many definitions and versions of family relationships today. Do you really want some bureaucrat decide who has a valid one or not?
JohnDittmer

Posted on 01/10 at 08:43 AM
The region should meet to coordinate and agree to communicate issues and options for resolution or we risk the play city against county against city as the laws change without ever resolving anuything. There are a lot of people from all walks of life taking advantage of the lack of communication and enforcement of laws throughout our region. We are in the 21st century and need to think more out of the box to resolve issues. Every government does not need to reinvent the wheel!
dotherightthing

Posted on 01/10 at 07:23 AM
The County needs to be very careful to stay out of the social engineering business. Mounting an effort to, as Sup. Jenkins puts it, 'define family' leave the County open to charges of racism, discrimination, and so forth. Over the past ten years PWC has made great strides in changing from a backwater bedroom to a jurisdiction befitting its proximity to the most cosmopolitan city in the country. Let's not blow it now.
Singer