SAN MARCOS — San Marcos could be a much less inviting place for students and other renters if a new ordinance goes through, say members of a commission studying the proposed rules.

Members of the new Student Neighborhood Relations Commission met to examine the city’s proposed Rooming House Ordinance at their second meeting March 24.

The ordinance was tabled when it appeared before the City Council in late January, and the new commission was created to study the ordinance more closely.

The controversial measure, which would prohibit the leasing of single-family homes (houses or duplexes) to more than two persons, was developed to address the rising tide of resident complaints, most of them noise-related.

The city considers the ordinance a fundamental component of what is known as its “Code Enforcement Kit Bag,” a set of procedural tools to enforce city rules.

With only two code compliance officers for the entire city, evidence of parking, litter and noise ordinance offenses often disappears by the time an officer can respond to complaints. The housing ordinance would give police something to prosecute in these cases.

City staff attending the meeting said that the goal of the ordinance was not to stop the practice of renting out houses, only the abuse of that practice.

“The city cannot completely enforce every single one of its ordinances on a daily basis. It’s just impossible. So what we do is we direct enforcement efforts to the ones which draw complaints,” City Attorney Helen Holmes Peak said.

“If you’re quiet and you get along well with your neighbors and you keep your place nice, we’ll never know about it. It’s the problem children that we need a tool to address,” said Karl Schwarm, Housing and Neighborhood Services Division director.

This was not reassuring to Commissioner Claudia Hill, who leases property to low-income tenants.

“I’m very concerned about being put into a situation where I am ... doing something illegal,” Hill said. “It doesn’t matter if we make no noise, if we have no parking, if we have no litter, if we have no graffiti. I’m still illegal.”

Hill also said that with housing prices as high as they are, the ordinance would eliminate one of the few places her tenants could possibly afford to live.

Commissioner Caitlin Gelrud, student body president for Cal State San Marcos, said she was interested in seeing how much the recently strengthened noise ordinance affected the level of complaints before recommending the housing ordinance as a solution.

“Although it isn’t targeted at (specifically at students), I just wanted to point out that they’ll be tremendously affected,” Gelrud said.

No one on the commission seemed entirely happy with the ordinance. Peak said she was not surprised.

“That’s what happens when you have apartment owners, boarding house owners, and students who constitute the majority of the commission,” she said.

The commission will meet again at the City Council chambers at 6:30 p.m. April 14. The public is encouraged to attend and give input. For more information, contact Deputy City Manager Lydia Romero at (760) 744-1050, ext. 3114.