Under Pennsylvania law, City Council can decide that certain types of projects are important enough to the economic or social health of the entire City that they can give the York City Redevelopment Authority the power to take property from private property owners. This is similar to when property is taken for road construction by the state. If this happens, and if the property owner and the Redevelopment Authority cannot agree on the fair market value of a property, then a court-appointed board determines the value. Owner-occupied property in the neighborhood continues to be converted to rental property at a rapid rate. While it is possible to create safer and more attractive housing by having the College own existing rental properties, it is not possible to have an actual decrease in the number of students living in converted rental properties without building new college housing which can accommodate far more students in a smaller area than the existing homes in the neighborhood.
Students don t want to live in dorms.
York College actually has a waiting list for dorm rooms at most times. In addition, any students who wish to live off campus must have permission from York College, so as long as dorm rooms are available, the College can ensure that they are occupied. The new dorms currently under construction, plus this proposed complex, would add 658 beds by 2006. Even taking into account the students who would be displaced by the new complex on Jackson Street, and the growth of the College, there should be an actual decrease in the number of students looking for housing in the neighborhood. There should not be any new demand for the conversion of owner-occupied property into rental property created by this project.