City officials are seeking an 18-month ban on city approved zone changes, permits or legislative acts that would authorize converting a home into a multi-family housing unit.

The proposal includes banning the construction or conversion of buildings that would house more than one family, including apartments and condos.

City officials would use the 18 months to research how multi-family units affect the city's housing market.

Well, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that Park Place is more valuable than Baltic Avenue.

But Monopoly economics aside, the proposed ban exposes some off-putting stereotypes about the type of people who live in multiple-family dwellings, namely#- me.

I live in a multiple-family dwelling. I would hate to think that I am having a negative impact on the character of my neighborhood, simply because I can't afford the luxury of a single-family detached home.

With the economy in shambles, it is not especially surprising that apartment living is on the rise.

Bank foreclosures have undoubtedly displaced thousands of Americans in the last year. But I wouldn't say that Auburn is falling into tenement despair.

And the measure could backfire. With the housing market the way it is, this whole scheme could open up a whole lot of property that just sits there as prices keep falling to come into line with tighter lending and stagnant salaries.

If anything, the measure will force low-income Auburn residents into nearby Syracuse, a city already struggling to improve housing conditions for the working poor. How is that better than two families sharing a single dwelling or a nice apartment complex?

I guess I just take offense to the notion that single-occupancy families are in some way superior to people who live in apartments.

I'm sure I am taking this too personally. It is probably premature to comment at all, as I am not entirely sure as to the motive behind the proposal. I just happen to know a lot of fine people who live in shared dwellings.

Perhaps the council should spend the next 18 months getting to know my friends and neighbors before they vote on the negative impact that we have on the community.

Estabrook's column appears

Mondays and she can be reached at estabrookcarole@yahoo.com