In a nearly full house, Mayor John Dennis stood before City Council urging the council to pass legislation to prevent the West Lafayette Bureau of Motor Vehicles building from closing.
“It’s a horrible mistake,” he said.
City Council voted to create new legislation that would impact nearby Airbnbs, Good Beggars, and the continued West Lafayette branch of the BMV.
BMV
The board voted 9-0 in favor of a resolution holding the West Lafayette branch of the BMV.
The vote came after an Oct. 26 public hearing into the potential closure of the West Lafayette BMV branch, announced by Indiana BMV earlier in October. A final decision will be made Nov. 15, Bunder said.
“I haven’t found anyone yet who thinks it’s a good idea,” West Lafayette adviser Peter Bunder said.
Several advisers have spoken out against this decision in defense of international students and older populations who use this branch.
Councilor David Sanders noted that a bus ride from campus would be 40 minutes to the nearest Lafayette BMV location, if that branch closed.
But most councilors thought the shutdown was a foregone conclusion. Councilors said they hope this vote will help delay the closure of this branch for two or three years. Sanders also mentioned that the state has addressed three potential closures, with one location receiving a delay.
Councilman Nick DeBoer said after the meeting that an inaccurate census count could have been a reason the BMV might close.
The misadventures of the census
The 2020 census counted the population of West Lafayette, DeBoer said. He claimed that the COVID-19 pandemic led to many students not being counted in this census, which was the cause of this inaccuracy.
“This map is a lie,” Bunder shouted, throwing his hands in the air.
DeBoer claimed the estimate could have underestimated the population by as much as 15,000, which he said had implications for funding and other branches of legislation like redistricting.
“We’re going to be haunted by this census until 2030,” DeBoer said.
Criminalize begging
The council voted unanimously in favor of a bill to “restrict dangerous activities around roads”. This bill would prohibit the solicitation, peddling, sale, advertising or distribution of products near any road.
West Lafayette resident Kirsten Gibson spoke out against the bill during a public comment period. She disputed the impact this would have on peddlers.
“It sounds really innocent, but if we look at the problem and break it down, it’s people asking for food or money,” she said.
The fine for this bill was originally set at $100, but Councilman Blanco changed it to $50 after calling the fine too punitive; the amendment was passed with the unanimous approval of the board.
Temporary rentals
The council voted 8-1 in favor of legislation that would create more rules around licensing transient rentals, a short-term rental of 30 days or less like Airbnbs.
The new regulations would require owners of temporary rental properties to have their homes and rooms inspected in order to meet the requirements set by the city for “home occupancy,” according to the ordinance.
Airbnbs, which already go through the normal rental licensing process, are the largest component of this short-term rental.
The only vote against it was DeBoer.
“I don’t know if it’s going to have an immediate impact,” he said, “but in five years you’ll probably see the effect.”
He added that this resolution would only add to existing regulations on temporary rentals, which could make hotels harder to find for visitors to the area.
Multiple public comments have been made regarding the difficulty in finding housing.
“These things are there to meet unmet needs,” said West Lafayette resident Charles Yu. “There has not been a significant increase in the number of hotels in the area.”
He went on to say that the price for a room at the Union Club Hotel for one night was $240, with other hotels having similar prices. The Union Club Hotel website showed Monday night that a standard one-bed room cost around $290, while the Hampton Inn was around $190 and the Hilton Inn $170, according to Trip Advisor.
Funding for opioids
The city of West Lafayette received $600,000 from the Purdue Pharma settlement, which is unrelated to Purdue University. These funds will be distributed through restricted and unrestricted funds.
West Lafayette was among the first Indiana cities to propose the idea four years ago, but backed out when state law was passed, the West Lafayette city attorney said. , Eric Burns, at the March meeting, requiring the cities to repay 70% of the settlement to the state. of Indiana, rather than the community.
When state law changed, West Lafayette was one of several cities to rejoin the colony, he said at the meeting, the council voted to do so.
Changes to the law allowed local governments to collect 35% of their settlement revenue and legal fees would drop from 33.3% to 8%, he said.
No timeline was given on when the county should spend these funds. City Comptroller Peter Gray said settlement funds would be paid out over 18 years.
The restricted portion of these goes directly to harm reduction, while the unrestricted funds deal with any other potential funding for community betterment, DeBoer said.
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