Party Chill

To any of my longtime readers this official "Party Smart" report will come as no surprise, since my Party House of the Weekend installments over the past two years have slowed so dramatically I should rename it Party House of the (every other) Month.

And since my monthly page views continue to be as high as ever the P.T. Barnum in me couldn't care less.

But the crusading journalist in me is overjoyed.

Ironically the Select Board gets this presentation on Monday night, the first day of classes at UMass.   They will also be discussing recreational marijuana.

No doubt the Select Board will be considering ways to both limit and slow down the establishment of recreational pot retailers in town.

Too bad because if we could get the college aged youth to switch from alcohol to pot the rowdy party house or Blarney Blowout type episodes will diminish even more. 

Either way, the town and University are winning the war on rowdyism. I'll drink, err, smoke to that!

Party Responsibly

Sunset Avenue near Southwest

Proving that there's such a thing as responsible partying in a college town, the new Party Registration Program for off-campus UMass students is working way better than some pessimists expected. 

According to Nancy Buffone, Associate Vice Chancellor for University Relations, 35 parties have been registered thus far, five of them required a "courtesy call" from Amherst police, and of those five none required any further action of APD.

 Fearing Street

Party on dudes! (Well, at least until you get a courtesy call).

Lost Weekends

AFD at UMass horse barn fire September 4th

   AFD Weekend Run Summary 9-9-2016

While substance abuse calls to the campuses take up about 10% of AFD total emergency runs spread out over an entire year the percentage goes WAY up on weekends, which is peak period for binge drinking.

For instance in this weekend report Amherst College is at 100%, Hampshire College 60% and UMass 56%. 

And each drunk run ties up an ambulance for at least an hour meaning they are not available for any other serious emergency.

Time for our colleges and FLAGSHIP University to double down on this problem.

Yours, Mine & Ours

Hobart Lane Gilreath Manor (3 buildings on left)

Yellow shows town right of way property

The Amherst Select Board, acting as "road commissioners", voted to allow the Temporary Town Manager to negotiate an annual "license fee" for Gilreath Manor in North Amherst after officials became aware they borrowed land in the public way for a parking expansion over the years that will also require Zoning Board of Appeals approval.

Lincoln Real Estate attorney Tom Reidy suggested $100 per year but since the Lord Jeff in town center pays $8,000 per year for the same type of license the price may end up a tad higher.

Gilreath Manor was built in the early 1970s back in the good old days when UMass had e-x-p-a-n-d-e-d exponentially and housing was a gold mine market ... as it remains today.

The reason the Lord Jeff pays such a high fee is they are taking as their own seven metered parking spaces and ten permit parking spaces on Spring Street which formerly generated revenues to the town.

And Hobart Lane is a tad off the beaten path for parking meters, one of the reasons it has a party central reputation.

Crowd of 1,000 behind 17 Hobart Lane Sunday April 17, 2016

Party On Dude

APD Captain Jen Gundersen, UMass Associate Dean  of Students Sally Linowski

The Amherst Select Board, although they never formally voted on it, gave their wholehearted support to the new joint initiative between UMass officials and Amherst police to start a weekend Party Registration Pilot Program in September for students living off-campus.

More than half of the 29,000 students who attend our flagship University live off campus.

According to Captain Jen Gundersen APD responds to between 700 and 1200 noise complaints annually and each one requires at least two officers, sometimes as many as four.

And in the vast majority of cases a simple verbal warning solves the problem.

Now that verbal warning can come first via a telephone call to the registered party house giving them a 20 minute deadline to end the party or at least quiet it considerably.

With the advent of Rental Registration Permit Bylaw the town has already seen a dramatic reduction in Party House rowdy behavior, so this experiment can be the icing on the cake.

The Select Board will hear a report in January about how well the program performed over the Fall semester.

Blarney Blowout 2014:  Party gone bad

Fool Me Three times?

Townehouse Apartments, Mid April

Third time was the charm for couch burning out at everybody's favorite outdoor play area, the west quad of Townehouse Apartments on Meadow Street in North Amherst. 

Last month, with a couple thousand college aged youth crammed into the quad, the firebugs escaped capture.

As did a couch torching this past Friday night.  But Sunday was a different story.  Private security caught the perp, who was charged with burning personal property. 

He was arraigned in Eastern Hampshire District Court on Monday before Judge Thomas Estes, and had his case continued until 5/31/16 for pre-trial.

Click to enlarge/read

The Intruder Never Rings Twice

One of the downsides of living on a party street is you have to deal with the occasional fallout induced by an alcohol haze, like a complete stranger staggering into your home as though it were his own.

 Click to enlarge/read

In Eastern Hampshire District Court yesterday Mr. Abi-Saad had criminal charges converted to civil and he paid $150 on count one and another $100 for count two. 

Probably many times more than he paid for the alcohol that made him act so stupid.

Final Chance

Court is in session:  Select Board, Temporary Town Manger, Town attorney

Acting as Liquor Commissioners the Amherst Select Board last night had to balance two sometimes competing interests:  the ability of a small business to survive in an ever increasing competitive market and the protection of public safety i.e. keeping underage patrons from procuring alcohol.

Obviously the latter takes precedence.

After an hour of testimony, including that of Police Chief Scott Livingstone and Detective Brian Daley, and then another painstaking hour of discussion, they unanimously voted to suspend the liquor license of Panda East for a total of 55 days, May 4th through June 27.

Fifty days for the two new incidents and 5 days that were given in "abeyance" for the original incident in January.

 Detective Brian Daley and Chief Livingstone give sworn testimony to Select Board

Thus the Select Board softened the blow somewhat by allowing the suspension to run out during the late spring into summer, a slower time of year in our little college town.  Although they will be dry during busy commencement weekend.

At one point the specter of outright revocation was raised, and then another suggestion by Doug Slaughter of seven full months (June 1st to the end of the year) was briefly discussed.

Even after the number of days under discussion for suspension came down to a month or two, Mr. Slaughter suggested the start of the penalty be September 1st rather than the slow summer months.

Attorney Kristi Bodin attacked the most egregious incident where a 17-year-old female was allegedly served two Scorpion Bowls and required hospitalization for alcohol OD by stating all the evidence was hearsay and they were being denied the basic right to cross examine witnesses.

Ms. Bodin also pointed out after the January incident where Panda East was sanctioned for serving 17 underage patrons the recipe for Scorpion Bowls was reduced to one shot of alcohol.  And it's hard to imagine two shots could put someone into a stupor requiring hospitalization.

 Attorney Kristi Bodin, Amy Wu manager Panda East

The young women did tell investigators she went to a UMass dorm room after being at Panda East so it's quite possible -- in fact likely -- more alcohol was then consumed, pushing her over the edge.  

But the second incident where a 20-year-old used a fake Rhode Island license to successfully acquire alcohol was pretty much beyond reproach and even acknowledged by Attorney Bodin that her client "dropped the ball."

Although interestingly the night of the second incident APD was doing a sting operation using four 20-year-old UMPD cadets and all four were denied service after being carded.

In her closing argument, like any good defense attorney who is cornered, Attorney Bodin threw herself on the mercy of the "court" saying her client desperately wants to stay in business.

After the last incident in January she has been trying to change the image of the business back to a restaurant rather than a drinking establishment.

And after these most recent incidents Ms. Wu purchased a $5,000 electronic scanning machine to detect fake I.D.s  Although Temporary Town Manger Peter Hechenbleikner pointed out you still need to use commons sense since a real license can be used by the wrong party.

In addition to pulling their liquor license for 55 days the Select Board also gave Ms. Wu until that June 27 end date to have the liquor license transferred over to her name from that of current absentee owner Isaac Chow.

The Select Board also told the Town Manager to come up with a 11" by 17" sign to be prominently posted in the front entry of the eatery displaying the dates their liquor license is suspended. 

So does the punishment fit the crime?  Well, yes and no.

Since the Select Board let them off easy for the first incident back in January by only immediately pulling the license for two days -- a Monday and Tuesday no less -- this 55 day sanction seems rather stern.

But I have to wonder if one of the downtown bars involved with the infamous Blarney Blowout were involved rather than an iconic restaurant would the punishment have been a tad more severe?

Either way, it's getting harder and harder for small businesses to survive in the downtown.

And after the slew of publicity this incident has now generated combined with the real threat of revocation for another incident -- with APD on the watch -- I think Panda East has, finally, learned a hard lesson.

"The quality of mercy is not strain'd ..."

Party Potential Part 2

Crowd of 1,000 behind 17 Hobart Lane Sunday 3:30 PM like leaves on a tree

Townhouse Apartments Sunday 3:15 PM

The party scene on Sunday shifted from the west quad at Townhouse Apartments in North Amherst to Hobart Lane somewhat around the corner off North Pleasant Street.

As they did the previous day Amherst police made individual arrests for "liquor law violations" (open container and underage drinking) but pretty much let the crowd, who were gathered on private property, have their day in the sun.

 Mill River Recreation area Sunday afternoon

Police also responded a number of times to the Mill River Recreation area for noise and parking complaints from a large student related gathering that had a permit to use the town property.

The Spring Concert at the Mullins Center Sunday night was designed to keep students on campus so they would not be a burden on town first responders.

But the two extra outside detail ambulances that Chief Nelson requires of them were not enough to handle the slew of substance abuse cases, five of which happened within an hour.

All told Mullins Center Command had 30 patient contacts, with 8 transported to Cooley Dickinson Hospital (three by AFD and five by special detail ambulances) and another patron taken into Protective Custody by UMPD.

Although, sadly, these numbers were pretty much in the predicted range.

Monday Morning aftermath:

17 Hobart Lane

North Pleasant Street across from Hobart Lane

Mill River Recreation Area parking lot

 Townhouse Apartments (from Saturday)

There's a reason they call it @ZOOMASS 🔥 pic.twitter.com/6EGarnPt5l

— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) April 18, 2016

Townhouse Apartments late Saturday afternoon

How NOT To Treat First Responders

Alyssa Conkonis stands quietly before Judge John Payne

UMass police may only have had 4 out of the 32 arrests over Halloween weekend but this one wins the prize for most outrageous. 

All you party hardy types may want to repeat a mantra in your head before letting loose on a party night for when you see those red or blue lights flashing: "They're here to help me, they're here to help me."

And keep in mind they have probably been dealing with crap no normal employee would ever tolerate in their workplace. So cut them some slack will ya?

Don't fight, bite or -- most especially -- spit!

 Click to enlarge/read

Ms. Conkonis was released on her own recognizance, her $500 bail was returned (although $150 will be taken out for her court appointed attorney). She returns to Eastern Hampshire District Court on December 3.

15 Minutes Of Fame?

Luke V. Gatti (center) and father (right) appear before Judge John Payne last year

Just so some Cowardly Anon Nitwit can't say "Gee Larry you're numbers have dropped precipitously; you must be losing your touch":

In the routine course of covering rowdy student behavior -- mostly UMass -- I had the unfortunate pleasure of meeting in a cyber sort of way, Luke Gatti, aka the "mac and cheese kid."

 Previous all time record was 134,000 for Blarney Blowout coverage March, 2014

I actually covered him three times over a very brief period last year and he even interacted with me in one of the posts -- although I assume his response was written by an expensive attorney.

So when he screwed up yet again at UConn in a viral sort of way (my definition of viral is minimum of 1 million hits) almost all the major digital media outlets linked to me -- most of them in two places.

This of course was meant to demonstrate Gatti was exhibiting a pattern of bad behavior -- not just a one off aberration that should be forgiven under the Christian guise of "Whoever is without sin cast the first stone."

Luke Gatti one state over

 When I went to bed the night of October 5th this blog was at the usual 75,000 hits for the month.  I usually get around 500 hits during the overnight so I was a little taken aback when I awakened the next morning to see my sitemeter fast approaching the 100,000 mark.

Over the next 24 hours I averaged around 10,000 hits per hour.  And the story had legs of which I've never seen because even a week later I was getting numerous referrals.  But that impact will start to disappear any day now as we approach the one month anniversary.

I get requests almost weekly from individuals I've covered asking for forgiveness in the form of name deletion.  My standard response is, "If you don't want your name to appear here then don't do the crime."

But I do sometimes think about maybe modifying the post once the District Court mandated terms have been met i.e. fines paid, "educational programs" taken and probation period completed without any further incidents.

Of course if I had used that leniency with Luke Gatti those three posts would have disappeared long before his mac and cheese incident.

His total punishment for both incidents on Phillips Street near UMass amounted to $250 in fines, one day alcohol education program and four months probation.

But now his mac and cheese antics as well as his UMass failures, will live on. Forever.

 Gazette even garnered much needed boost in circulation

A Matter Of Student Safety

Attorney Tom Reidy and Cliff Laraway appear before ZBA last night, Chair Mark Parent (ctr)

Sometimes the difference between life and death is measured in mere seconds -- especially when dealing with The Beast otherwise known as  fire.

A cluttered escape route, narrow stairway, or -- God forbid -- a door locked from the outside that doesn't allow opening from within, could quickly spell death of a most unimaginable kind.

Would you trust your life to this fire escape?

At last night's Special Permit hearing for 382 North Pleasant Street, which most people probably think of as a fraternity (which apparently it still is),  Zoning Board of Appeals Chair Mark Parent clearly stated, "My concern is about safety, that's what is driving this.  Some kids do crazy stuff and we need to protect them from themselves."

A September 29 Site Visit turned up "living rooms" with doors on them, and at least ten rooms with external locks on them (which as a joke someone could lock the person in), as well as a bevy of extra mattresses in storage.

A Tad Too Many Tenants

Mr. Parent told the petitioner and his attorney, "It is very clear to me this site is occupied by at least 10 people consistently. No question it's more than the 8 allowed.  We need to come up with conditions that rectify that."

The town of Amherst has a zoning bylaw that restricts occupancy to no more than four unrelated housemates per one family unit.

Owner Cliff Laraway is requesting a Special Permit to allow the structure to be a two family, non owner occupied structure (for up to 8 unrelated tenants).  But the layout of the former fraternity, with so many rooms, makes it hard to enforce only eight of them be bedrooms.

Building Commissioner Rob Morra stated, "There have to be significant structural changes, like taking out a wall vs simply removing a door".

The Amherst Fire Department, having done car counts over the month of September, considers it a "rooming house" with 10 or more tenants, thus requiring an expensive ($39,000) sprinkler system.

 Click to enlarge/read

The Special Permit hearing was continued to November 5th so the ZBA could request an AFD representative attend.

The petitioner was sternly instructed to come back with floor plans that show eight and only eight bedrooms as well as physical changes in place to keep the other numerous available rooms from conveniently be used as additional bedrooms.

Building Commissioner Rob Morra did not waste any time taking enforcement steps to ensure the current population of the building goes down to only eight:

   Amherst 382 N Pleasant violations

Party House of the Weekend

 419 Old Farm Road

Shane Walsh, Evan Stack, Ben Gallacher off to Clerk's office to pay $300 town bylaw noise fine (each)

For only the second weekend of the semester we have a party house winner where APD intervention of the arresting kind was required.  Although this one is of the more typical variety:  all college aged men.  UMass students to be precise.  All hockey players no less.

Henry Dill (left) also arrested next door to 419 Old Farm Road at same time for assaulting a police cruiser

A few years ago at this time of the season APD was making arrests at numerous party houses.  I asked APD Chief Scott Livingstone if things were, as I suspected, getting better:

I would agree, that thus far, the communication and interactions, cooperation,  with officers and young adults has greatly improved.

Although still very early, I know that both Officer Laramee, Eric Beal and all of the other sector officers having been doing a lot of outreach, whether it be door to door meetings, Fraternity and Sorority meetings and others.

I have been contacted by coaches of many of the sports teams, and we are in the process of scheduling meetings with them as well.

A very good sign!

The usual Saturday day drink parties at Townhouse Apartments in North Amherst also seem to end a little better than they did a few years ago. 

These past two weekends have also seen large gatherings at the western quad where police managed to herd the kids off the green (more like brown at the moment) without incident.

 Townhouse Apartments 9/19/15 5:00 PM

Townhouse Apartments 9/26/15 6:00 PM (Click photo to enlarge)

Wild Women Weekend

51 Phillips Street

Three 21-year-old women, all UMass students, became the first "Party House" arrests of the Fall  semester.  And seven of nine (one of my favorite Star Trek characters) UMass ETOH drunk runs over the weekend were women, as were both Amherst College drunk runs.

Click to enlarge/read

Ain't equality great?

In Eastern Hampshire District Court on Monday none of the three women jumped at the Commonwealth's usual plea deal offer (which has about a 98% acceptance rate):  Criminal case is "diverted" to civil with payment of $300 town bylaw noise fine, and if they stay out of trouble for four months the case is dismissed.

All the young women wished to consult with a private attorney so their cases were continued until next month.

And all the ETOH women recovered and will be paying (or their parents will) around $1,000 each for their ride to Cooley Dickinson Hospital.

   AFD Runs Mid-September

So Far So Good

APD having a chat with college aged youth carrying a 12 pack Townhouse Apartments

The long weekend went a l-o-t better than I thought it would as far as (serious) rowdyism goes.

Sure there were the usual problems associated with our annual spike in population, returning Amherst to a "college town" after a quiet summer:  zombie herds traipsing up and down Phillips Street, North Pleasant and Fearing Streets, large gatherings in the west quad of Townhouse Apartments and of course old standby Hobart Lane.

Townhouse Apartments Saturday afternoon

But there were no serious incidents of drunken mob mentality manifesting itself in the form of rocks, bottles and cans being hurled at police officers, aka Blarney Blowout.

Although Amherst Fire Department had the usual tie up in services due to drunk runs with ETOH students. 

Amherst police stepped up their game as they always do.  APD Neighborhood Liaison officer Bill Laramee worked with UMass Neighborhood Liaison Eric Beal to keep a lid on the usual pressure cooker areas.

The Rental Permit Bylaw ordinance that went into effect 18 months ago is making a significant difference by holding landlords accountable for the (late night) activities of their tenants.

And UMass, by building newer plusher accommodations on campus -- North Apartment (800 beds) and Commonwealth Honors College apartments (1,500 beds) -- gives young tenants a reason to be proud of their humble abode and much more likely to treat it with respect.

Revived my Twitter audience

Three's A Crowd

321 Lincoln Avenue, Amherst's Great White whale

After two years of cat and mouse attempts at enforcement of the zoning bylaw limiting 321 Lincoln Avenue to only two apartments ("two family") one of which must be "owner occupied" Building Commissioner Rob Morra declared victory with a signed legal document recorded 4/27/15.

The first thing You-Pan Tzeng did after buying 321 Lincoln Avenue three years ago was try to remove the "owner occupied" zoning requirement that legally came along with the building, which he of course knew about prior to purchasing it.

Tzeng lost that court battle but not before costing Amherst taxpayers over $15,000 in legal fees.

Neighbors along Fearing Street and Lincoln Avenue had been complaining almost since the day  he purchased the property, mainly about the extra tenants and the noise and cars that come with them.

But Inspection Services can't simply walk into a house unless invited to do so by a legal resident.  Last winter Morra received a call from a Boston attorney requesting he inspect the premises at 321 Lincoln where his daughter was a tenant.

They had been told when signing a lease that the house was only two apartments -- hers and the one below -- but the daughter clearly heard sounds associated with a 3rd unit above her.

At last the Building Commissioner had the legal grounds to do a complete inspection. Once Mr. Morra confirmed the presence of a stand alone unit on the 3rd floor -- complete with bedroom and kitchen -- he could assess fines of $100 per  day. 

Tzeng could not throw out the legal tenants from either of the two apartments (especially when one has a lawyer dad) because they had a signed lease and the third illegal unit was "owner occupied" by his daughter who attends UMass.

Hmm ... what to do?  Surrender!

This time, Moby Dick did not escape.

   Amherst Zoning Victory

Click to enlarge

Cracked structural beam just discovered in June at 321 Lincoln Avenue

Good News Crime Report

Eastern Hampshire District Court this fine summer morning

So for those of you who think I spend too much time documenting the sorry underbelly of Amherst i.e. drunk driving and other drug/alcohol related carnage please take note:  For the 2nd Monday morning in a row Amherst Police Department had no arrests/arraignments in Eastern Hampshire District Court.

And yes, based on my boots on the ground coverage of said District Court that is a tad unusual, sort of like a man biting a dog (or a woman scratching a cat).

The relative calm will only last until this coming weekend with the return of our vital and exuberant "college aged youth."

Kick back, suck down the lemonade and enjoy the leisure paced summer quiet over the next few days ... because change is just around the corner.

New Sheriff In Town

Umass Amherst:  Getting out from under a cloud

UMass Amherst, our proud flagship of higher education, just announced the new "neighborhood liaison," aka "off campus Resident Assistant," and they could not have made a better choice than Eric Beal.

Eric Beal Chairs his final ZBA meeting (June 11) after 8 years of service

. 

Modeled after the Boston College program of having a school employee who is a hybrid of a cop and bar bouncer, Mr. Beal will patrol the usual suspect neighborhoods adjacent to the UMass campus to try to head off rowdy parties before they hit the stage where APD is required.

Mr. Beal will be paid a $62,000 annual salary.

18 months ago Eric Beal chaired the ZBA meetings against a prominent local landlord who appealed the hefty fines imposed by the Building Commissioner for having too many students packed into an apartment, without proper safety precautions. 

That case became a turning point, and helped in the creation of the successful Rental Registration & Permit Bylaw which is now at 100% adherence.

#####
UMass Press Release

Aug. 3, 2015

UMass Amherst Chooses Attorney and
Former Town Official Eric Beal
as First Neighborhood Liaison

AMHERST, Mass.

Eric Beal, an Amherst attorney and former chair of the Amherst Zoning Board of Appeals, has been appointed to the newly created position of neighborhood liaison at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, effective August 3rd.

Beal, a UMass Amherst alumnus, will work with town and campus public safety officials, responding to incidents and complaints involving off-campus student behavior in neighborhoods near campus. He will serve as a liaison to off-campus students and neighbors during evening weekend patrols and will assist campus partners with proactive programs on student behavior, educational campaigns and community service activities.

“Eric’s deep knowledge of the neighborhoods around campus both as a resident and as a former zoning official makes him uniquely qualified for this new and important position,” said Nancy Buffone, associate vice chancellor for university relations. “This position is another step forward in our town-gown efforts and I am confident that Eric’s skills and experience are a great fit for the university and our campus neighbors as well.”

The creation of the neighborhood liaison position was a key recommendation in former Boston Police Chief Edward Davis’ September 2014 report to campus and community officials on how best to handle large off-campus disturbances. The neighborhood liaison’s role is to work directly with community members, hear everyday concerns and build relationships to deter disorderly student behavior. Similar positions have been successful at Boston College and Georgetown University.

Beal will be a nighttime mainstay in the neighborhoods that traditionally find students gathering during fall and spring semester weekends. He will collaborate with Amherst police and fire officials on proactive approaches to student-neighborhood issues and with the university’s Student Affairs and Campus Life office on its successful Walk This Way and Team Positive Presence programs.

“I fell in love with the Amherst area while a sociology major at UMass Amherst in the early ’90s, and it’s been a dream of mine to work for UMass,” said Beal. “In my eight years on the ZBA, I worked closely with town and public safety officials, residents and property owners. I learned first-hand about the issues affecting our neighborhoods and efforts of residents, the town and the university to improve quality of life. I look forward to joining UMass to continue that work.”

A graduate of UMass Amherst and the University of Connecticut School of Law, Beal has a background in human services, including a stint as a resident assistant in the Southwest Residential Area and work as a mental health counselor in the Holyoke area.

In his law practice, Beal represents clients in appellate matters, including children and families in care and protection appeals. Beal previously was an associate with Axinn, Veltrop & Harkrider in Hartford from 2001-07, representing Fortune 500 clients in litigation, government investigation and appeals, and an associate with Bulkley, Richardson and Gelinas in Springfield from 2007-10.

An Amherst resident, Beal plays alto saxophone in the Amherst Community Band under the baton of UMass Marching Band director Timothy Anderson. He has served as a member of Amherst Town Meeting and is a supporter of the Friends of Puffer’s Pond. He is an avid cyclist and trail runner and serves as a lead coordinator for the 2015 Amherst Regional High School Cross Country Invitational.

 Beal lives with his daughters, Lillian and Ella, and his long-time partner, Shelley, and her two sons, Peter and Eric.

Housing Enforcement Outliers

Inspection Services Department located in historic Amherst Town Hall

The once controversial Amherst Rental Registration Bylaw -- one of the most important pieces of local legislation passed in a generation -- is now just over 1.5 years old.

After achieving 100% compliance of nearly 1,300 properties before the end of its rookie year, the next step of course is to keep them in compliance.

That's where the Inspection Services Department come in, aka the enforcer.

Interestingly the first half of 2014 compared to the first half of 2015 the number of complaints is exactly the same @ 164.  But in 2014 those 164 complaints were lodged against a total of 151 different properties and in 2015 the 164 complaints were lodged against a total of only 81 properties. 

Same number of complaints involving far fewer properties

Two of the more serious enforcement actions involved illegal basement dwelling units occurred in 2015. Fortunately both had a happy ending, although one landlord ended up paying $500 in court fines.

 149 Farmington Road

   Amherst Housing Case

 

816 North Pleasant Street 

   Amherst Rental Bylaw Enforcement