The tension between Quinnipiac and the town of Hamden continues to rise after Quinnipiac was issued a fine for not having enough beds for students. The New Haven Register reported Sunday the fine is set at $150 per day due to Quinnipiac’s violation of an approval that involved the construction of York Hill nearly a decade ago.
“As you saw from the [New Haven Register] article we’re appealing and we’re not saying anymore beyond that,” Associate Vice President for Public Affairs John Morgan told Q30 News Sunday. The Zoning Board of Appeals will hear the appeal on March 19. If the appeal is denied, a Citation Appeal Hearing will be scheduled.
In 2006, the Hamden Planning and Zoning Commission agreed to the construction of York Hill, but added in the university must provide a bed for every enrolled student. Quinnipiac built its campus but ultimately failed to fill the bed quota.
University residential life polices do not guarantee housing for all its students and in the town’s terms it comes up short about 1,315 beds. Ultimately, the university cannot fill all of the beds it already provides. Quinnipiac University attorney Bernard Pellegrino told the Register the school interpreted the condition to mean that it must provide a bed for every student that wants one.
With Quinnipiac’s compliance, the commission’s goal is to have 95 percent of students living on campus, but school has yet to agree to this. Per the New Haven Register, at this time, 80 percent of students live on campus, with 20 percent either studying abroad, living with family or living in off-campus rental housing.
Quinnipiac planned to voluntarily pay $1.23 million last year to make up for the money the town loses in taxes due to the school’s non-profit state exemption. As a result, the town said it would help streamline the process for which the university could apply for developments.
Last week, the township made headlines when it announced a plan for a “College Town District” that would allow Quinnipiac a certain degree of territory in which it would be restricted for expansion.
