A new State College ordinance limiting the number of apartments in new buildings may drive up student rents, one State College Borough Council member said.

Council member F. Dan Winand said he believes students already pay too much for apartments that are often overcrowded.

"I don't think I could survive at PSU today," he said. "I think all you students should refuse to sign leases."

Local residents concerned about the number of people living downtown pushed council last week to pass the proposal, said Anita Genger, of the Holmes-Foster Neighborhood Association.

Permanent residents want to limit the number of downtown apartments to prevent the extension of what they call "Beaver Canyon," the series of high-rise apartments along Beaver Avenue, she said.

Council passed three other ordinances limiting business activity and the height and floor areas of new buildings. The ordinances represent council's first steps to implement its downtown plan.

The plan, designed by Land Design Research Inc., based in Maryland, suggests the borough must control retail, commercial and entertainment development to protect the local economy.

An ordinance requiring retail use of the first floors of new buildings passed by a 6-1 vote. Developers may be less willing to build in the area if council restricts first-floor use, councilman R. Thomas Berner, who voted against the proposal, said.

However, Winand said Berner's concerns are unwarranted. Winand said the first-floor ordinance will boost the economy by increasing shopping.

The two other ordinances passed by unanimous votes and will limit the heights of new buildings and their distances from the street.