Tuscaloosa extends large-scale student apartments ban
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (WBMA) — The Tuscaloosa City Council voted to extend a temporary ban on large-scale student apartments until May 2022.
The ban affects housing developments of 200 bedrooms or more with four-to-five bedrooms per unit. Mayor Walt Maddox says the large developments are located in the center of the city and are impacting the infrastructure.
"It's where we have some of the oldest water and sewer lines , we have a road network that was based on the population one hundred years ago, so those improvements are very costly,"
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According to Maddox, upgrades could cost millions of dollars. He says the large student apartments have no benefit to taxpayers.
"These mega student apartments don't generate much sales tax, so there's not a lot of revenue to offset those costs and the public is having to pick up the tab," he added.
