U. City landlords form committee to write standards

The group aims to improve the quality of area housing through voluntary changes. Landlords in University City are enjoying the best market they've had in about a decade -- and they're hoping to keep it that way. Last Wednesday, at a closed meeting organized by University officials, area landlords formed a 12-person committee to agree on minimum requirements the group hopes to get all University City landlords to adhere to. The committee, which is made up of landlords and one University official -- Esaul Sanchez, Penn's director of neighborhood initiatives -- will meet today to establish what they hope will become the standards for safety and general aesthetics for all local landlords. "There was a lot of enthusiasm in the room [during the meeting] to really try to make the University City [area] cleaner and safer, so that more students would want to live there," said Undergraduate Assembly Chairperson and Wharton junior Bill Conway. Conway was the only student invited to attend Wednesday's meeting, held in the Division of Public Safety headquarters at 40th and Chestnut streets. Dan Bernstein, property manager of Campus Apartments -- one of the area's biggest landlords -- and a co-chairperson of the as-yet-unnamed committee, said the group hopes to form a checks-and-balances system to govern itself. Bernstein also suggested putting stickers in the windows of properties that are adhering to the new guidelines to alert future tenants. "It's easier for us to police ourselves," he said, adding that the committee's success "really depends on the cooperation and the efforts that are put forth by the landlords." The University's director of community relations, Glenn Bryan, was optimistic about the committee's success in the future. He said the standards could lead to an overall increase in quality of service and maintenance for properties throughout University City. The landlords asked Sanchez to be part of the committee because of his work coordinating UC Brite, a 1 1/2-year initiative led by Penn to install residential lighting throughout University City that ended recently. "We've worked together on difficult problems and always had good results," Sanchez said. The committee, according to Sanchez, will produce the new guidelines, distribute them and implement them by next month. One reason for the recent rise in the demand for University City housing is due to increased real estate prices and fewer vacancies in Center City. Dan DeRitis, owner of Apartments at Penn, said University City is almost full at this point in time in terms of apartment and house rentals. "We've managed to bring back a lot of students from across the river," he said. "It's something we have to work hard to maintain and improve upon." University officials hope the committee, which was the idea of the landlords, will not only increase safety in the area but also educate the students in their role as consumers. "It's not just a matter of locks," said Diane-Louise Wormley, Penn's managing director of community housing. "It's also educating students and making sure everything is in place for the next rental season." Philadelphia's Department of Licenses and Inspections wrote and enforces the housing codes and regulations that the committee hopes to supplement. These codes detail particulars such as the location of fire alarms and the minimum number of bathrooms in a household. Regulations dealing with security and general appearance, however, are not as clearly defined. The regulations, according to a booklet published by L&I;, require landlords and homeowners to drain their yards properly, maintain fences and keep their yards sanitary if they are accessed by other residents. The booklet also obligates landlords to light public hallways and stairways, but does not mention outdoor lighting or alarms, which Penn officials mentioned as features which might enhance safety. The committee hopes to enforce its new regulations, even though it has no official power, Sanchez said.