Students To Protest Ban On "Porch Couches"

[matcom]

<snip>

Matt Grinshpun spends hours on the three couches on the porch of his big red house on Oakland Street in Ann Arbor. Grinshpun, a junior at the University of Michigan, and his 14 roommates at the Lester House co-op use them as a place to study, visit and even dine during the warm months.

"I live on this porch," said Grinshpun, 19, of Midland as he lounged last week on a dark green couch with floral cushions. "When fall starts, 15 people will eat dinner on the porch. Couches are rather central to the way things work around here."

But Ann Arbor fire officials say the couches are a fire hazard and want them removed from hundreds of front porches in student neighborhoods around campus, where they are often placed near a barbeque grill.

The couches have created a major debate in Ann Arbor as the City Council prepares to vote tonight on an ordinance to ban upholstered furniture of all kinds on outside porches and decks. Many students say the proposed ordinance infringes on their property rights and vow to mount a "save the sofa" campaign next month. The council has scheduled a Sept. 7 public hearing before taking a second vote, which is required to pass the ordinance.

Just a few doors down on Oakland, 12 people, including several U-M football players, narrowly escaped a fire in June. Investigators say the blaze was fueled by two love seats and a propane grill that ignited on the front porch.

http://www.freep.com/news/metro/couch16e_20040816.htm

[Spinzonner]

1. SO you get a few Couch baked potatoes

seems like a small price to pay.

[Scooter24]

2. Why don't they ban grills

from being on front porches? Or how about an ordinance where grills can't be 10 or so feet near apholstered furniture? Couches don't cause fires..lol..

Smokey says "Only you can prevent freak apholstered furniture fires!"

[mrboba1]

3. so don't stick the fuckin grill

next to your furniture on the front porch.

Laws to prevent dumbasses from killing themselves are not worth the time...

[baldguy]

4. Save The Sofa!

[GOPisEvil]

5. How about enacting an ordinance about open flames and structures?

Such as, all open flames must be X feet from a structure and not under a roof of any kind...

[LoZoccolo]

6. They're trying to do this in Ann Arbor?

It's like part of the culture in the student slums. I remember hanging out on a porch talking to people on the next porch and all that, thinking that was neat. Why don't they just say you can't have both a grill and a sofa on the porch at once?