Many students find that living off campus in the Malibu Canyon Village (MCV) commonly referred to as “the Stinkies” for its close proximity to the city’s water treatment facility to be a convenient and affordable alternative to living on campus at Pepperdine. Yet recurring confrontations with the complex’s Homeowners Association (HOA) has convinced many students that living in the Stinkies is not as convenient as it once was. Long-term residents appear to be going out of their way to make the MCV as uncomfortable an environment as possible so as to prevent more students from moving in.
Over the past three years my roommates and I have socialized slept and studied at the Stinkies. During that time there has been a dramatic increase in disdain for college students. Although the ultimate intentions of the Homeowners board have not been explicitly stated it seems evident that its contempt is fueled by a desire to keep the Stinkies free of potentially disruptive undergraduate residents.
My apartment for example accrued more than $800 in fines during the course of a single week. The irrational circumstances under which these citations were issued dispel any notion of their justification.
The initial targeting of our unit was the result of a barbecue held in my apartment earlier this semester. About 15 of my fellow students attended the event. The following afternoon my roommate received a phone call from our landowner informing him that because of the barbecue not one but two noise violations – each valued at $250 – had been issued. Although we had received one informal verbal warning neither a written warning nor a citation was ever issued. Our only notification was an unexpected phone call that apparently constituted the Homeowners Association’s right to $500.
The California Association of Homeowners Associations which regulates the affairs of all Homeowners boards in the state provides guidelines the boards are required to observe. In many states there are consistent policies that provide this information at no cost through which an image of California’s regulations might be formulated.
Several associations require that prior to issuing a citation security must provide a warning in written form. Once a citation has been warranted both written notification and a written notice that the citation can be contested are required. In our instance though the appropriate warning citation and right to contest were conveniently disregarded.
Additionally it is reasonable to assume that for security to issue multiple citations for a single violation there would be some concrete method such as duration or volume distinctions to indicate that more than one fine was warranted. Yet this incident seems to point to the fact that the quantity of citations seems to be up to the discretion of the security personnel on duty.
Because one of the policies of the Stinkies is the prohibition of air conditioners the sliding doors of many residents are constantly open. Thus even a sneeze can be heard from far across the echoing parking lot. Consequently student residents have been issued overly expensive tickets for engaging in common daily activities.
Within the same week of the barbecue our apartment was issued a third violation. This citation however was issued at 3:30 p.m. for music from a stereo. When we asked about who complained about the noise the security guard on duty said nobody had complained about the music but it could be heard from the parking lot thereby constituting a noise violation.
Numerous long-term residents embody the Homeowners board’s desire to prevent the Stinkies from becoming stereotypical off-campus housing demonstrating deep concern for the complex’s future. One expressed the fanatically paranoid belief that “first the college kids will come then the gangs will come.”
In the meantime members of the HOA have gone above and beyond to ensure that students are deprived of any simple pleasures deemed slightly disruptive. It is not entirely the nature of these policies but the zealousness and inflexibility with which the Homeowners board enacts them that demonstrates extreme disdain for University students.
Regardless of these discomforts however students should not be deterred from living in such a potentially convenient and affordable location. Pepperdine students are not inherently disruptive and they should be determined to end this onslaught of unwarranted targeting.