CSU students and Fort Collins mayor call for reassessment of housing occupancy limits known as "You Plus 2"

Many students at Colorado State University are making a push to get rid of a Fort Collins ordinance that has shaped the rental housing market around the university since the 1960s. 

Students have recently flooded Fort Collins City Council meetings asking for the "U plus 2" law, which prohibits more than three unrelated individuals from living in the same home no matter the size.  

The law was created in the early 1960s but was bolstered and further enforced around 2005, when CSU's student population began to grow rapidly. Many residents complained, at the time, of their neighborhoods being filled with college students, parties, and vehicles.  

While the law is known to largely impact homes around the campus of CSU, it also applies to every other resident in the entire city. 

Some student organizers with the Associated Students of Colorado State, the institution's student government, have recently made a push to have the law repealed. 

"We are part of the community as well. So, we should be heard, too," said Jorge Garcia, Director of Housing Securities for ASCSU. 

"It has made housing really tricky for Fort Collins residents, specifically CSU students. Because the less people you can live with the more expensive rent is," said Grace Crangle, ASCSU's Director of Marketing. 

Students with ASCSU say many students have knowingly violated the ordinance as a way to save money on rent, something CBS News Colorado has confirmed in previous reports on the matter. 

In previous reports, students who wished not to share their names, took CBS News Colorado's reporter, Dillon Thomas, into their homes and showed him how they were keeping more than three unrelated individuals in their houses as a way to lower rent.  

Fort Collins mayor, Jeni Arndt, told CBS News Colorado that it was debatable whether or not ridding of the ordinance would actually lower prices for renters, but noted that Fort Collins did have issues with affordable housing.  

"We have a large housing supply issue. We have an affordability issue as well," Arndt said.  

Some have argued the current issues with the law were in part created by Colorado State University. The university has openly boasted of its initiative, for more than a decade, to rapidly grow the size of the student body.  

CSU has pushed so hard to grow their student body that for two years in a row they have accepted and enrolled more freshmen than they have dormitories available, leaving many students to have to live in hotels for their first months on campus. 

Those students are then thrusted into a competitive market to find housing around the campus after they age out of the dorms. 

"It's definitely difficult to find affordable housing," said Marcus Zacarias, Chief Justice for ASCSU.  

Zacarias says students, who are knowingly breaking the law for the sake of affordability, are also then put in dangerous situations due to their fear of being caught. 

He says students, who are in violation of "You Plus 2," do not report safety hazards in their rental units or repairs that need to be made out of concern that their landlord or the city will issue them a citation. 

Crangle noted that there are homes around the campus and Fort Collins as a whole, that are large enough to safely house more individuals. However, they are capped by the law.  

"We have this space. This space exists, but we are wasting it," Crangle said.  

Arndt says she loves living around CSU students and added she feels most college renters are good neighbors. She pointed out that a home around campus that has four or five rooms, by law, can only house three college students that are not related, leaving empty space and adding to the housing issues.  

"It is a housing security issue when it comes down to it," Zacarias said.     

ASCSU's team suggested the city simply repeal the ordinance and align themselves with federal housing guidelines instead, something some city council members have vocalized disagreement with. 

CBS News Colorado reached out to two city council members who vocalized their support of retaining the ordinance as is for comment on this story but did not hear back.  

ASCSU's team has been working on collecting signatures from registered voters in Fort Collins to repeal the law. However, the task is more difficult as most of the student body has not changed their legal addresses to Fort Collins, making them unqualified to vote on the matter.    

Arndt, who does have a vote but no veto power when it comes to city council decision, says she is in favor of revisiting the ordinance and finding ways to change the law to better use Fort Collins's existing housing.  

"We call it 'You Plus 2,' that is quite restrictive," Arndt said. "I think it is time to reexamine our occupancy ordinance." 

Arndt says she was not sure, at the time of this report, what changes would be best for the city. She applauded the students for starting the conversation once again and welcomed more community engagement on the issue.  

The mayor says she has had conversations with those close to her about what possibilities could be suggested. 

However, ideas like limiting it to one person per room would also not be wise, she said, as sometimes people share rooms. She also said it wouldn't be wise to limit the housing occupancy based on square footage.  

One idea Arndt proposed while speaking with CBS News Colorado was possibly creating zones where the law would be enforced and other zones where there would be more leniency. 

For example, homes within a certain distance of CSU's campus could possibly have more than three unrelated individuals, while homes in family neighborhoods on the edges of the city may still have the current standards.  

Students promised to continue their push to the council, some saying they will not stop until the ordinance is addressed by voters.  

"I think (student input at council meetings) really showed council we are here, we care and we will see them at the ballot box," Crangle said.