Causing dismay and anger among some graduate students, UCSB housing officials have raised the initially advertised rent package for the San Clemente Village graduate housing complex.

The $36 per month price adjustment shifts the total monthly rent per student in a two-bedroom apartment from $831 to $867, and requires even students without a car to purchase a $432 dollar parking spot.

The fee spike was a result of a regulation the university and the California Coastal Commission agreed upon in July 2005. The contract required a mandatory allotment of one parking space per resident to be included within the rental fee in order to alleviate parking problems in Isla Vista.

While UCSB agreed to the CCC’s parking requirement, housing officials did not include the cost in the advertised and agreed upon rent until two weeks ago.

Executive Director of Housing & Residential Services Wilfred Brown said the delayed incorporation of the parking fees resulted from repeated attempts on behalf of the university to have the parking measure scratched from the contract.

“We thought the students without cars would be concerned to pay a parking fee without having a car,” Brown said. “That was the rationale, and that’s why we thought we’d go back and take a long, hard look at this. We went back into the document and looked to see if there were any loopholes, and there really weren’t any.”

However, religious studies graduate student Todd Foose claimed the university handled the situation poorly and that it failed to inform prospective residents about the likelihood of additional fees.

“At the very least, [H&RS] was aware that there was a potential that this issue was possible,” Foose said. “They could have at least informed us that this increase was possible and been more honest and upfront with us. We’re not angry at what the agreement is. We’re angry at how they’ve decided to interpret it. Ideally, they would not have had to charge us, but they should have quoted us the higher rate and told us that they are trying to get the rate reduced and make the cost of parking an option, rather than an obligation.”

Meanwhile, religious studies graduate student Andrea Neuhoff recently created a “Graduate Housing Grievances” petition and correlating Facebook group in response to the fee spike.

Foose said one of the major points of contention highlighted in the document is the lack of alternative campus housing options allotted to graduate students.

“One of the big complaints I have heard from people is a lack of choice,” Foose said. “Right now there’s a choice between San Clemente or nowhere.”

However, Brown said he considers San Clemente affordable housing, as it is under the market value of apartments in the surrounding area and includes utilities and parking.

“If the cost of housing and that $36 means they cannot afford the housing … and they don’t think this is a really good rate and it doesn’t seem to fit their economics, then they should look at other options,” Brown said.

Print