Members of the West Lafayette community, primarily residents of neighborhoods surrounding Purdue’s campus, packed the city council meeting Monday night, anticipating the vote for a controversial ordinance many hoped to speak on.
But instead of voting, the council nearly unanimously voted to hold off making a decision until march on the ordinance, which would permit “accessory dwelling units” in several zones of the city. These ADUs would allow more than one family living space to exist on a single lot in those areas, including guest houses, extra apartments and “granny flats.”
The Reisner House, located on Littleton Street, is owned by Purdue professors Susan Curtis and her husband Charles Cutter. The house is a 1920s modern bungalow. The porch was enclosed later.
If eventually passed, the move would allow more people to pack into the city, which councilors hope would alleviate a housing shortage sweeping West Lafayette, while some residents say they fear the ADUs would bring unregulated housing for college students and overcrowd the city’s neighborhoods.
“This is not our problem,” said resident Cheryl Kirkpatrick, referencing the city’s housing crisis. “I don’t know where you ever got the idea that the West Lafayette council and city residents are responsible for housing Purdue students.
“And don’t say … it isn’t for Purdue students. Of course it is.”
The city council is considering the ordinance as Purdue’s enrollment continues to see record growth, growing by 20% since 2020 and and 42% since 2014. With the university breaking enrollment records every year, officials are looking for a way to keep up with the ballooning population.
Janet Glossic, a resident of the New Chauncey neighborhood, said she worries the ADUs will be primarily filled with college students, which have historically disrupted her otherwise quiet neighborhood.
“We already have a lot of dealings with students coming down the street and trying to get into cars and trying to get into people’s houses because they’re so drunk they don’t know that it’s not their house,” she said. “I’m not against ADUs if they’re going to be used by your family.”
The city’s Historic Preservation Committee, an organization dedicated to “safeguarding the city’s historical, architectural and cultural heritage,” wrote a four-page letter the city council before Monday’s meeting, urging members to vote against the ordinance. It argued that West Lafayette lots are too small to accommodate multiple living spaces, the increased density will negatively affect the neighborhood’s historic character and regulating the ADUs would be difficult and ineffective.
“We need to insist that Purdue play a larger role in solving its own problems without us continually sacrificing important and irreplaceable components of our city and community,” HPC Vice Chair Colby Bartlett said during the public comment section of the meeting.
Liz O’Neal, a Dehart Street resident for over 40 years, said code enforcement is already a struggle in her neighborhood, and regulating ADUs would be even harder.
“I just think this is poorly organized and poorly planned,” she said.
Patti L O’Callaghan agreed code enforcement is important, but she said the idea that ADUs would only be used by Purdue students was inaccurate. Working at Lafayette Urban Ministries, she has seen many families that can’t afford traditional housing options available in the area.
“The major way to address the housing crisis that we have is to increase the housing stock,” she said. “But you do need to put protections in.”
The current version of the ordinance does have some restrictions in place regarding the size and how many family units can live there.
The ADUs may be internal, attached or detached from the primary residence, but they must have independent access to outside and are limited to one family, the ordinance says. The ADU or the primary residence must be owner-occupied and the ADU can not be used as transient housing.
Multiple city council members said they would like to hold community meetings to gain input from residents before revisiting the ordinance in March.