Council delays vote, plans meeting to discuss numbering balconies

By ANGELA J. GATES
Collegian Staff Writer

Strong opposition to an amendment requiring balconies to be numbered stopped the State College Borough Council from voting last night and caused them to call a special work session for further investigation into its effects.

The council voted to hold the special session on numbering of balconies, but approved other sections of the amendment including sections to clarify language in the property maintenance code and reduce the time between first and second notices to problem property owners.

"I think some good comments were made that maybe we didn't think of," borough manager Peter Marshall said.

Hart Nelsen, president of Midtown Square Condominium Association, 310 S. Allen St., said the value of the property could go down if the balconies on the 24 residential units in the condo association were numbered.

Numbering each balcony would advertise downtown buildings as student buildings, he said, which could lower property values if people thought students lived there.

Nelson added the numbers would also detract from the design of the building.

"I dread the thought of walking by and seeing numbers painted or hanging on the building," he said.

State College Mayor Bill Welch said there might be a better way to deal with the aesthetic aspect of numbering balconies, which the council could discuss at its work session.

Some people who opposed numbering balconies because of safety reasons said the numbers would make tenants more vulnerable to harassment.

The numbers could allow stalkers or anyone else to know what apartment someone lives in if they were out on the balcony, said Sam Toney, president of Fairmount East Apartments Inc., 235 E. Fairmount Ave.

State College Police Chief Tom King said many apartments are secured or locked and numbering the balconies would not just benefit police, but people who might be walking through the area.

"It's also part of our goal … so that people walking to a movie that get beer dumped on their head would know where it came from," King said.

Toney said other apartment buildings were being unfairly treated as a result of the July riot.

"Why should you penalize everybody in State College for what happened on Beaver Avenue?" he said.

Better street patrols by the State College Police Department could help solve the problem of disruptive behavior instead of numbering the balconies, said Shannon Flynn (senior-journalism and English).

While there were some valid reasons for not numbering balconies, council member Elizabeth Goreham said she thinks the amendment will be adopted.

"There's going to have to be a compromise between anonymity and accountability," she said.