Critics say it's a step backward to the bad old days.

Advocates say it's a move forward to new, better days.

A proposed student housing district in the city's northwest neighborhood has alarmed some residents, who worry that rowdy behavior that once plagued the area will return and parking shortages will worsen.

But supporters of the zoning change requested by Franklin & Marshall College and a developer working with the college say the measure will improve conditions by establishing better controls.

The city planning commission will hold a hearing on the proposal at its 7:30 p.m. Wednesday meeting in City Council chambers at Southern Market Center.

In the proposed district, apartment owners who have a contract with a college to provide housing and who meet certain standards — not just any landlord — would be allowed to rent to more people than currently permitted.

The apartments would be leased through the college the student attends, so the college would have the ability to discipline student tenants who misbehave.

Mayor Rick Gray, a supporter of the measure, said the proposal would give colleges and the city more control over conditions in off-campus student housing.

"We'll be able to make sure that where students live is not only safe but properly (supervised) by the police, the college and the landlord. ...It's not going back," he said.

But former Mayor Charlie Smithgall, who lives in the city's northwest, said of the proposal, "This is Pandora's box, ready to be opened. ...This is going to kill (the neighborhood)."

The proposed district would be bounded by Harrisburg Avenue, College Avenue, North Prince Street and West Orange Street.

Under the proposal, qualified apartments could have one person per bedroom. So a six-bedroom unit could have six tenants.

The city now says that only two or three unrelated people can share an apartment, depending on the zoning district where the property is located, no matter how many bedrooms it has.

To qualify for the higher occupancy level, the student apartments would need to have sprinkler systems and trash removal, and meet other criteria.

The landlord would have to provide one off-street parking space for every two bedrooms. The space would have to be within 500 feet of the apartment or be on the college campus.

However, the city zoning board could grant exceptions to the parking standard.

Rosemarie Keen, a College Avenue resident and real estate agent, voiced strong concerns about the proposal.

"We're just getting families, professionals and empty nesters back into the area, fixing up their houses.

"We want to move Lancaster forward. We don't want to go backward," said Keen, who organized a neighborhood meeting about the proposal last Thursday that drew 38 people.

But developer Kevin Silverang, whose firm is seeking the change with F&M, said the measure would do what Keen wants — move the neighborhood forward.

Silverang, an F&M graduate, is a suburban Philadelphia real estate developer and attorney who's investing $17 million into the purchase and renovation of about 30 properties for about 240 F&M students.

Silverang said developers need to be able to put more students into an apartment to recoup the steep investment needed to upgrade the properties.

But because the apartments would be leased through the college, students would have to toe the line or risk being evicted by the college from the apartments, Silverang said.

"There will be no loud music, no parties, no alcohol. This will not be akin to the raucous behavior that happened back in the day...," he said.

"Rather than be alarmed, if the neighbors work to understand the program, they should applaud the attempt by the college to be proactive in regulating their off-campus housing," said Silverang.

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