Away from campus, Columbia seeks party crackdown

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- The remnants from a night of drunken excess in the neighborhoods near the University of Missouri-Columbia can be enough to make even the most tolerant townie blush.

Empty beer cans litter front yards and sidewalks. Discarded pizza boxes and fast-food wrappers flutter in the breeze. When the wind is right, a stench of urine seeps through the air.

With scenes like that becoming all too prevalent, city officials want to crack down on excessive partying in off-campus residential areas. Their targets aren't necessarily the student drinkers, but instead landlords and property owners.

"We all know that no matter how conscientious a landlord is, they'll get bad tenants," said Mayor Darwin Hindman. "But people just shouldn't have to put up with unreasonable conduct."

A proposal before Columbia's elected leaders defines "nuisance parties" as social gatherings of 10 or more people where any of 16 prohibited activities occurs. The violations include underage drinking, drug use, fighting, public urination, excessive noise, littering and blocking traffic.

Property owners found guilty of violating the nuisance party ordinance would face initial fines of at least $500 and up to three months in jail. Three violations within a year or 18 months could cost landlords their rental licenses.

A city-appointed task force of residents spent more than a year crafting the proposal. Among those still not satisfied with the end product are Hindman, who thinks the measure isn't tough enough, and Phil Nickerson, a landlord and task force member.

"The city is taking the easy way out by trying to make the owners responsible for the activities of tenants," Nickerson said.

Students, as would be expected, are also none too keen on the measure.

"There's a really arbitrary definition of what a party is," said Davie Holt, a senior from Independence and leader in Missouri's student government organization. "There might be a few isolated locations where there are problems, but that's the case in any city, college town or not."

Task force members said they considered arguments from all sides while putting together the proposal, which goes before the Columbia City Council in early November.

Landlords who evict or "diligently attempt" to evict troublesome tenants can use that action as a defense. And the report went through several versions as members considered the public comments offered throughout the process, a task force report noted.

Along with out-of-control college parties, the city also wants to toughen its laws regulating drug use, gambling and other illegal conduct at "chronic nuisance properties." That proposal too would put a greater onus on property owners to be accountable for their tenants' behavior.

In both instances, the city should be able to more readily define "unacceptable conduct," said Hindman. He realizes such an attempt could be fraught with problems.

"I realize it's difficult," Hindman said. But some behavior, he added, "is just not suitable for a neighborhood."