Whereas, Cornell University represents one of the largest employers in Ithaca, and Cornell University students represent roughly sixty percent of the population of the City of Ithaca;

Whereas, in particular for those in the Cornell University community who often live on lower incomes, such as but not limited to graduate students and staff, affordable housing should be loosely defined as comprising no more than thirty percent of annual income;

Whereas, there is a dire need for affordable housing in Tompkins County — the Tompkins County Affordable Housing Needs Assessment predicts that “housing unit demand in Ithaca and Tompkins County will increase at a rate of 384 units per year, or by a total of 3,894 units, between 2006 and 2014”[i];

Whereas, there is a need for affordable housing for homeowners — according to the 2006 Tompkins County/Cornell Employee Commuter Survey conducted by the Ithaca-Tompkins County Transportation Council, “housing that is affordable to a variety of income categories continues to be a concern for many employees who work in Tompkins County yet they live outside of Tompkins county due to the expense of living within it”[ii];

Whereas, there is a critical need for not only affordable housing, but quality housing that is well-maintained and close to points of interest — the findings Tompkins County Housing Needs Assessment “reinforce the need for affordable, well maintained housing, both renter and owner-occupied, in our communities”[iii];

Whereas, the issue of affordable housing, is an issue that impacts Cornell University students, graduate students, faculty, and staff;

Whereas, students, both undergraduate and graduate, and staff are under pressure to sign leases well in advance, as featured in the Cornell Daily Sun on October 2, 2012, where students are camping out to sign leases for Collegetown rentals for the next year[iv];

Whereas, the Cornell University Off-Campus Housing Office should be commended for its current work as it is responsible for advocating for the welfare of 14,000 students who live off-campus, and is increasing efforts to educate students living off-campus about their rights as renters and renting etiquette;

Whereas, the Cornell University Off-Campus Housing Office is also currently working to establish sustainable relationships with the broader Ithaca community;

Therefore, be it resolved, the Office of Government and Community Relations should make it a priority to work with community organizations, such as those in the City of Ithaca, Twn of Ithaca, Cayuga Heights, Collegetown, Lansing, North Lansing, Tompkins Planning Department, and so forth, to actively contribute to increasing the availability of affordable, well-maintained rental housing in Ithaca and greater Tompkins County to satisfy the demand for housing from students, staff, graduate students and faculty; Resolved, that Cornell University allocate more resources to the Off-Campus Housing Office;

Resolved, that the Cornell University Off-Campus Housing Office should continue its work to build relationships with local homeowners associations and assist in efforts to increase the availability of affordable, well-maintained housing;

Resolved, the Cornell University Off-Campus Housing Office should continue its work with the City of Ithaca, along with local homeowners associations, to establish stricter guidelines to increase the quality of housing available;

Resolved, the Cornell University Off-Campus Housing Office should continue its work with students to educate towards renters rights, and also educate and provide students with resources to maintain existing housing in quality condition, thus improving our relationships with local landlords.

Respectfully submitted,

Elizabeth Newbury
Executive Vice Chair of the University Assembly

Mitch Paine
President of the Graduate and Professional Student Assembly

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[i] http://www.tompkins-co.org/planning/housing_choices/index.htm [ii]http://www.tompkins-co.org/planning/housing_choices/documents/InCommuterAnalysis.pdf [iii] http://www.tompkins-co.org/planning/housing_choices/documents/ExecutiveSummary-RenterSurvey.pdf
[iv] Camuti, L. (October 2, 2012) Cornell Daily Sun. “As Collegetown Housing Rush Intensifies, Students Sleep Outside Rental Agency” http://cornelldailysun.com/section/news/content/2012/10/02/collegetown-housing-rush-intensifies-students-sleep-outside-rental-a