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Residents and students press West Chester council for housing, parking and safety action after student’s death
Summary
At a April 15 West Chester Borough Council meeting, students and residents urged the borough and West Chester University to address off‑campus housing limits, rising rents and commuter parking; councilors urged attendees to make their views heard at the university master‑plan hearing on April 27 and approved the consent agenda 7–0.
About three dozen students and borough residents pressed the West Chester Borough Council on April 15 for clearer solutions to off‑campus student housing, rising rents, commuter parking and neighborhood safety following the recent death of a student, Garrett Nicholas.
Council President opened the meeting and said the borough is encouraging West Chester University to add more on‑campus housing, adding, “we are trying to encourage them also to create more housing on campus,” and urged residents and students to attend the university’s continued master‑plan presentation on April 27.
Why it matters: Students and long‑term residents described competing demands on a limited housing supply in a borough where speakers said the average home price now exceeds $600,000. Councilors repeatedly framed the problem as a supply‑and‑demand issue driven by university enrollment, higher interest rates and constrained neighborhood capacity — and said meaningful new housing on campus or new garage capacity will take years to plan and build.
Students and residents…
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