On Wednesday December 7, 2011, the Henrietta Family Code was passed at the Henrietta Town Hall. Some students may already be aware of this proposal, but for those that don’t, the law states that “four or more persons living in a single dwelling unit who are not related by blood, marriage or legal adoption do not constitute the functional equivalent of a traditional family.” Basically it state that four or more people cannot live together in a single family household unless they are related or meet the standards required to be labeled as a functional equivalent to a traditional family.
This law stems from the family code that was already present in the town of Henrietta stating the same information. However the code was not enforceable because it didn’t regulate what a traditional family is. The new law was passed to make the code enforceable by stating exactly what needs to be present to be considered as a traditional family, or the functional equivalent. For those students who live with a few unrelated roommates, the following criteria must be present to be considered a functional equivalent of a traditional family, as stated in Henrietta Code Section 295-2:
- “The group is one which in theory, size, appearance, structure and function resembles a traditional family unit.
- The occupants must share the entire dwelling unit and live and cook together as a single housekeeping unit. A Unit in which the various occupants act as separate roomers may not be deemed to be occupied by the functional equivalent of a traditional family.
- The group shares expenses for food, rent or ownership costs, utilities and other household expenses.
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The group is permanent and stable. Evidence of such permanency and stability may include:
- The presence of a minor dependent children regularly residing in the household who are enrolled in a local school.
- Members of the household having the same address for the purpose of voter registration, driver’s license, motor vehicle registration and filing of taxes.
- Members of the household are employed in the area.
- The household has been living together as a unit for a year or more, whether in the current dwelling unit or other dwelling units.
- Common ownership of the furniture and appliances among the members of the household.
- The group is not transient or temporary in nature.
- Any other factor reasonably related to whether or not the group is a functional equivalent of a family.”
The law will officially go into effect within 20 days after it is passed. All students that signed a lease before the law was passed will not be effected by it. In a letter sent to RIT for its students, Town Hall Supervisor Michael Yudelson stated that “It is position of the entire Town Board that we have no intention of disrupting living arrangements already committed to for this academic year, most of which involve lease agreements.”
All of the on-campus housing will not be affected by this law due to the difference in zoning. Park Point, Province, Westbrook Commons, University Commons, Riverknoll, Perkins and Colony are all safe from the effects of this law since they are considered to be on-campus, commercial or industrial housing. Students living in communities such as Oak Mills and other single family house communities will be subject to this new law. RIT Student Government Vice President Phil Amsler says “There will likely be only two or three times that this law will be enforced throughout a year. It will mostly be to the houses that receive the most complaints and that are the most egregious.”
With all of the rumors being spread about the seriousness of the new law, there are many students worried about their current or future housing situations. Amsler lends some advice to help calm down the wild claims being made about the law. “Don’t panic. It’s not over. A lot of things have to happen still,” said Amsler adding, “ Be careful who you select to be your roommates and also who you get your information from. Get your own information.”
To get this reliable information, students can ask all of the questions they want at a meeting with Student Government Attorney Paul Vick. This Thursday December 15 from 2:00-3:30 in the Kathy Hall Conference Room, Vick will be answering all the questions that students want answered about the new law pertaining to traditional family housing.