News-Letter

Media Credit: Laura Bitner [Click to enlarge]

The Phi Kappa Psi fraternity has decided to appeal a Baltimore City re-zoning ordinance affecting its second house, at 3906 Canterbury Road. The fraternity, commonly known as Phi Psi, aims to win back the right to rebuild the house as a fraternity residence.In March 2005, the Phi Psi house received several citations from Baltimore County about the structural state of the house.

Because of delays in fundraising and renovations and long abandonment of the Canterbury Road house, Phi Psi has lost its exemption from the code, previously ensured by a grandfather clause under which they had been able to own the house since 1976. The grandfather clause permitted use of the house as a fraternity because the house was
owned by the Beta Theta Pi fraternity before the new zoning codes for residency had been initiated.

"When you abandon property that is Class III non-conforming use, and you abandon it for a year, you lose the use," said Mary Pat Clarke, Baltimore City Council Representative for District 14.Although sufficient funds for renovations were eventually raised, the deadline for the grandfather clause was missed. The official vacant status of the house was set in September 2005, and the county required that construction begin by Oct. 14, 2006 to maintain lawful residency of the house. But because of the extended time needed to raise renovation money, construction began two days late, on October 16th. "We started construction too late to get the grandfather clause. Now we can't build it in the old style, we'd have to build apartments, which would be much more expensive," said Phi Psi president J.R. Yarbrough"We're appealing to the Tuscany Canterbury Neighborhood Association for support," he said. On April 17th, the fraternity has a meeting the Baltimore City Board of Municipal and Zoning Appeals, and they hope to win back the rights to rebuild their house in its original state.Phi Psi indicated high hopes for neighborhood support. "Most of the neighbors are ambivalent. They don't care, and we don't bother them. When we hold events, they always get plenty of advance notice, and we hire private security. We keep things to a low roar," Yarbrough said. Neighbors of the fraternity, however, disagreed. "I've only lived here several months, but I've heard stories. There have been a lot of complaints, and I don't think having a frat here is compatible with the neighborhood. A frat belongs close to a campus, but not in the middle of a substantial residential neighborhood," an anonymous neighbor said. Originally, Phi Psi planned to raise money for several months, then renovate the house quickly and move back in after less than a year. But the renovation estimates kept on increasing, from the original estimate of $400,000 to almost $750,000, and the renovations did not start soon enough. "We already had plans for structural renovations before the citations. There was already a general consensus to raise money for a few months and make changes to the house," Yarbrough said. "Our plan has two phases. Phase One started this past fall, and the plan included a brand-new roof, gutting out the interior, and getting ready for actual renovations. Because of the re-zoning, Phase Two hasn't started yet," he said.Yarbrough explained that the national organization helped to organize money fund-raising and rose nearly half a million dollars. The Hopkins chapter of Phi Psi raised an additional $250,000 to reach their fund-raising target. Rob Turning, the coordinator of Greek Life at Hopkins, said that the University cannot intervene in an issue regarding property disputes because the house in question is not owned by Hopkins. "Unfortunately, since the house is owned by a Phi Psi housing corporation of alumni, Johns Hopkins University is not able to intervene or give support. But we've been asked to attend the appeals meeting, and we'll be there to help mediate the situation and give both sides information," Turning said. The Canterbury Rd. house has 16 bedrooms and 17,000 square feet -- the largest among the fraternities at Hopkins. As the fraternity has grown, members have expressed hopes to move out of their smaller, current house. Regardless of neighborhood complaints, Yarbrough believes the fraternity could be a benefit to the community. "We have always tried to be respectful of the neighborhood and the TCNA, and I think we've been a lively addition to the community that's beneficial to society. We tried to help the neighborhood, rake leaves for the elderly, and do community service. We're young and vibrant, and some of our biggest supporters are professors living in that neighborhood," Yarbrough said.Turning agreed with the sentiment and said that preconceived notions of fraternities like Phi Psi are undeserved."I know that fraternities in general have a bad rap, but the neighbors need to remember that these boys are someone's sons, they're not monsters or unapproachable. A lot of the stuff they do, like the noise and the trash, they don't do it to annoy neighbors, but because of ignorance of what's acceptable," Turning said. Phi Psi has a contingency plan entailing purchase of a small apartment building if the zoning commission does not accept the appeal."We have money and a lot of growth of the undergrads, and we're growing up to size, almost as big as Pike. It depends on the energy of the alumni what happens next," Yarbrough said. However, because of the moratorium on sophomore exemption, it would be difficult for the fraternity to fill the entire house. Phi Psi nonetheless has high hopes for its appeal to the Board of Zoning Appeals. "My pledge class was the last pledge class to live in that house. I remember looking forward to living in that house. We're losing what made the house so great. We're trying to keep that alive, and we're hoping they'll give us another try," Yarbrough said.

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