UO-area residents try good-neighbor policy.

Byline: Greg Bolt The Register-Guard

Call it a beer and booze version of global warming if you like, but it seems to neighbors living just south of the University of Oregon that the fall party season has been starting earlier every year.

This year, said neighborhood resident Karen Baldwin, it almost seemed as if it never stopped. The normal lull between the end-of-year bashes in June and the start-of-year blowouts in late September never really arrived, and this year the partyers added fireworks to their menu of revelries.

"The fireworks just went on and on and on," said Mary Ellen Rodgers, one of Baldwin's neighbors. "It was loud and a little scary."

So this year, in a classic example of non-intuitive thinking, Baldwin, Rodgers and several other women in the neighborhood got together and decided to fight fire with ice cream.

They held a bring-your-own-ice-cream social on the front lawns of a couple of neighboring houses and invited everyone on the block, renters and homeowners alike. It was an opportunity to get to know some of the faces behind the windows, a chance for people to see one another as neighbors.

It was just part of an effort the women came up with to curb noisy, out-of-control parties in a neighborhood where there's almost an even split between owner-occupied homes and rentals primarily occupied by students. Baldwin simply calls it a good-neighbor policy.

"I think being a good neighbor is about building good relationships," she said. "We want it to be as receptive a community for them as it is for us."

The women also went door-to-door around several blocks, introducing themselves and handing out several information sheets. Those included the city police flier on safe and legal partying, city parking regulations, articles on the city housing code and a cover letter outlining neighborhood expectations.

Baldwin, who coordinates the elementary education program at the UO College of Education, said they're trying to approach student renters on the same level as any other neighborhood resident and help them feel more a part of the community. They hope that will encourage more responsible behavior and dial down the intensity level of parties.

"We're doing everything we can to keep it a hospitable neighborhood for everybody," she said.

They also want to keep it safe, especially for their young children. Baldwin said they started thinking about the situation last Halloween when a group of youngsters out trick-or-treating was almost hit by a pickup peeling out of a yard where it was illegally parked.

The women said they were impressed by the reaction student tenants had to their overture. Even though their letter made it clear that late-night noise, trashy yards and careless driving violate the law as well as neighborhood expectations, they "had only courteous responses" from their new neighbors.

Denise Jessup, another of the group, said she even had one young man offer to act as a liaison between tenants and homeowners and help spread the word about neighborhood expectations. And she now has a list of five young women who have offered to baby-sit.

Since starting the effort, Jessup said she's gone to two houses where parties were getting too loud. Both times she was greeted politely and the parties quieted down.

"I'm really hopeful this year," she said.

UO student Mattias Otto, who lives near Jessup, said he's happy to be an ambassador for fellow renters. He was already working along the same lines as Baldwin, Jessup and their friends by handing out his own letter urging better behavior, having seen too many parties where the police or fire department were called to quell problems that could easily have been prevented.

Otto has gone out at 2 a.m. to quiet parties that are disturbing neighbors. He too said people have cooperated when asked politely to tone things down.

"It's amazing how well people get along if you just take that first step to communicate," he said. "It's win-win. I make sure the neighbors are happy, and we get to have parties. It's so easy it's almost ridiculous that more people don't do it."

And if the polite approach doesn't work, the women have a neighborhood phone tree that ensures that at least three complaints are phoned in to Eugene police.

Sgt. Rich Stronach said the number of phone calls doesn't determine whether or how soon officers respond, but he said the neighbors' effort makes a lot of sense.

"I think it's a great idea," he said. "It's kind of the whole concept of community policing, in that if you know your neighbors and know the people living around you, you're going to think twice before you besiege them."

Jessup said they also try to see things from students' point of view. That includes trying to help them in dealings with property managers, who they said are generally very responsive when neighbors call them to discuss property upkeep issues.

"We relish having students here," Baldwin said. "We like their energy, their enthusiasm. We just want to keep things safe for all the residents."

GOOD-NEIGHBOR PARTYING Information from the EPD `Partying in Eugene' brochure Respect your neighbors: Don't disturb other residents Control the guest list: Have a door monitor Adults only if alcohol is served: Check ID before serving Tell neighbors: Provide a number to call if it gets loud Monitor noise: Keep windows and doors closed Clean up: Remove debris from yard or street promptly Prevent drunken driving: Prearrange alternate transportation More information: www.eugene-or.gov; click on "Police" in the left-hand menu, then highlight "Police forms/publications" and click on "EPD Publications." Download the PDF "Partying in Eugene." Or go to http://tinyurl.com/y28rm4