Thread: SC:Communities are addressing over-occupancy problems

How some area communities are addressing over-occupancy problems

Board members at Woodlake found themselves in a controversy last month over a proposal to have residents of the Hilton Head Island community sign I-9 forms before moving in.

The measure was meant to address an over-occupancy problem officials said they suspected was caused by illegal immigrants. Board members said as many as 10 people were living in two-bedroom units.

Woodlake withdrew the proposal last week after a backlash that accused the board members of discrimination and questioned whether the forms could legally be used for housing purposes.

But the information required by an I-9 isn't much different from what other apartment complexes and communities require from tenants before allowing them to rent. And, while other neighborhoods have had similar concerns about overcrowding, some local housing officials say they have found other ways to correct the problem by doing things like limiting access and regulating parking areas.

The Estates at Westbury, for instance, a Bluffton apartment complex that converted to condominiums in 2006, runs prospective tenants through background, credit and sex offender checks, said Jaziel Green, association manager for Atlantic & Pacific Management, which oversees the property. A Social Security or alien number is required for the checks, she said.

For the I-9 form, which all new employees in the United States must fill out to prove legal work status, a person must show documents such as a passport, driver's license, voter registration, Social Security card or citizenship card.

At the 468-unit Hilton Head Resort, management also requires a background check before renting to a tenant, said Donna Brown, president of the board of directors.

"Part of that is to make sure that people are here legally or that their visas are up to date," Brown said, noting that the community hosts a lot of international workers employed on the island during the summer. The board also requires residents get a photo identification card to keep with them, she said.

HANDLING OVERCROWDING

At Woodlake, the I-9 proposal was explored almost out of desperation.

Officials had tried in the past to contact property owners or rental companies to complain about too many people living in a unit, but many out-of-state owners shrugged off the concerns.

Now officials plan to hire a private investigator to stake out the handful of problem units in the 224-unit complex and collect court-admissible evidence of over-occupancy.

Other communities have handled the issue in a less dramatic fashion.

The co-owner of Atlantic Real Estate, Don Brashears, who also sits on about a dozen boards in different communities where he owns property, including Tabby Walk and Cotton Hope, said any problems that pop up are usually quickly fixed by talking to the tenants directly.

"If it's not corrected, we would evict them," he said.

In Westbury, officials recently instituted a parking pass system to keep tabs on how many cars were in the lot and root out any unauthorized residents, said Green, the manager. Residents have to bring a picture ID, lease and vehicle registration to get a parking pass. If they don't have a pass, their car can be towed, she said.

"It's worked beautifully," she said. "It makes it difficult for them to continue to squat. ... It makes us aware of how many people they actually have in a condo."

If management at Hilton Head Resort suspects a problem, owners are responsible for addressing it quickly, she said. Fines can be levied immediately.

DISCRIMINATION CONCERNS

The Woodlake issue has added to fears among some in the Hispanic community that communities don't like having them as residents.

Laura Ramirez, a staffer at the Latin American Council of South Carolina, said two day laborers told her they planned to move out of Woodlake when the I-9 issue arose. She told them to wait and see what happened, but they were afraid of questions about their immigration status, she said.

Others who live in Cotton Hope have complained to the council that security guards are targeting them for fines or parking violations, she said.

Woodlake board members drew criticism from the Hispanic community and others for blaming the overcrowding problem on illegal immigrants.

"The problem that bothers me more (is) to address it and say they're all illegals," Brashears said. "There's nobody on that board that knows that."

With tensions still running high from the national immigration debate, the issue may be bigger than just housing, said Carol Groeschel, co-director of the Hispanic Office of Legal Assistance at St. Francis By the Sea Catholic Church.

"I think people feel discriminated against in a lot of places," she said. "It's just the climate of the time."

http://www.islandpacket.com/news/local/story/69775.html

If there are children in those situations you can report them to Social Services. There are regulations as to how housing and children go together. There can only be so many people per bedroom and per house.