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Apr 29, 2008 10:29 pm US/Central
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Arlington Apartment Manager Tries To Impose Curfew
ARLINGTON (CBS 11 News) ―
The manager of a North Texas apartment complex wants residents to be in their apartments by 9 p.m. every night.
The regulation is meant to crackdown on troublemakers at the complex near Highway 360 and Green Oaks Boulevard in North Arlington.
The property manager at Southern Hills Apartment Complex said she's just trying to make the complex a safer place to live.
But some residents say she has no right to tell them when they can come and go.
The apartment complex seems peaceful during the day, with kids outside playing with their puppies. But at night, residents say trouble makers come out of the woodwork.
"They treat it like it's the projects. They post up outside, smoking, drinking, sometimes doing drugs," said resident Jai Mays.
"There have been cars broken into," said resident Sawanna Phillips.
"There is a lot of noise up until two, three, four o'clock in the morning," said resident Nikki Addison.
The property manager is trying to combat the problems with a new curfew.
A letter was sent to each unit telling residents they and their guests must be inside by 9 p.m. each night or they will be cited by the Arlington Police Department.
"I think the curfew is great," said Phillips. "It makes us feel safe here."
But others say the curfew violates their rights.
"I'm 33-years-old. I don't want to have to be in my house by nine o'clock," said Addison.
"If I want to sit on my steps and talk on the phone, I should be able to do that with no problem," said Mays.
"I don't want to get cited for going to get a pack of diapers," said Addison.
The Arlington Police Department said residents don't have to worry. Officers cannot enforce the time restrictions because the city itself does not have a curfew.
After meeting with Arlington police, the property manager revised the new policy, asking residents to voluntarily obey the curfew as part of their lease agreement.
"I understand what they're trying to accomplish, I just don't like how they're going about it," said Mays.
The manager said she will still call the police on non-residents who are hanging around after 9 p.m. Police say they may be able to cite those people for trespassing.
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