COLLEGE STATION, Texas (KRHD) — College Station redefines 'family' to comply with state housing law.
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College Station City Council unanimously approved a new definition of "family" last week to comply with recently passed state legislation that restricts how municipalities can regulate housing occupancy.
The change comes in response to Senate Bill 1567, which forbids municipalities from using age, jobs and other factors to regulate local housing occupancy limits.
"It basically came back to the city as how we define the family now," said David White, City Council Place 3.
Mayor John Nichols said the city chose to redefine "family" rather than replace it with "household" throughout city ordinances.
"We could have changed the word family to household, but then we would have to go back through the entire code of ordinances practically and replace the word family wherever it appeared," Nichols said.
City leaders say the updated definition helps College Station stay aligned with state requirements while maintaining its family-oriented character.
"I think as long as we're in line with what the state is kind of looking for and we don't put a target back on our back, having a definition of family is a positive thing because College Station is built with families," said Valen Supak.
One student expressed support for the city's compliance with the state law, saying the focus should remain on avoiding further state scrutiny.
"We should stay away as far as possible from anything that upholds the 1567. There's no need for the state to be looking at College Station in the 90s session when it comes to this ordinance," Cepak said.
However, city officials acknowledge the changes may bring familiar challenges, particularly regarding traffic and parking in neighborhoods with heavy student rental populations.
"I think we will see some increase in traffic congestion, parking congestion in neighborhoods where it's heavily student rental or rental," Nichols said.
"I think now the focus on parking, and in my opinion, that's what the focus should have been the entire time," Cepak said.
The mayor said a public engagement meeting about parking issues will be scheduled soon to gather community feedback.
I reached out to the Texas A&M Student Government for comment but did not receive a response.
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