But Howard Levine, a BC law professor and attorney who specializes in municipal law, said that the law would likely be upheld. Massachusetts, he said, is a "home rule state," which means that unless a statute specifically states or clearly implies that a local community cannot enact an ordinance, then the community is entitled to pass that ordinance.
"Only in cases where a local ordinance or bylaw is deemed repugnant or contradictory to, or frustrates the purpose of a state or constitutional measure, would there be a violation of home rule," he said.
A community can pass any ordinance in the interest of public welfare and safety, Levine said. "If they feel that this is challenged by the presence of students, and that this is necessary to maintain the integrity of a community, then they have a strong right to do that."
Further, Levine said that because students are not a protected class of individuals garnering special safeguards against discrimination, the law's specification of "undergraduate students" is not unreasonable. "It is narrowly tailored enough not to be discriminatory," he said.
Levine also pointed to an existing Newton ordinance that is similarly restrictive, in that it limits the number of unrelated individuals living together who are 18 and older to no more than four.
Snyder cited a 1974 U.S. Supreme Court case, Village of Belle Terre v. Boraas, for justification that legislation can be passed regarding zoning laws as related to students. She said that the City Council also consulted Greater Boston Legal Services during the formation of the ordinance.
Enforcement of the law falls to Boston's Inspectional Services Department (ISD) and will be dealt with in the same manner that other codes and regulations are enforced, said Lisa Timberlake, a spokesperson for the ISD. "If we receive a complaint or someone calls and requests an inspection, we will follow up," she said. The ISD does not knock on doors proactively to initiate inspections.
2008 Woodie Awards
