In February 2014, the City of Cedar Falls requested a consortium to work together on a task force. This task force was designed to confront an abundance of rental problems in Cedar Falls. Recently, Cedar Falls Planning and Zoning passed an ordinance that prohibits the conversion of single-family homes to duplexes in the R-1 and R-2 districts. These districts stretch from University Avenue to Main Street, a popular area for landlords to rent out properties to University of Northern Iowa students. Cedar Falls Mayor Jon Crews opened the first task force meeting in late January 2014 by discussing ongoing rental issues in Cedar Falls. These issues include the mixing of rental properties with residential neighborhoods and reducing the number of unrelated persons living in a rental from four to three. Chairing the task force is Frank Darrah, 5th Ward council member. 18 people sit on the task force, nine of which are city staff members. The other nine include homeowners, landlords, UNI staff, citizens of Cedar Falls and one UNI student. Victoria Hurst, senior public administration major and director of governmental relations for Northern Iowa Student Government, sits on the task force as the only UNI student. “I really do care about this,” Hurst said. “I want a solution that would make everyone happy, I don’t want to hurt students, landlords or homeowners.” Hurst, a Cedar Falls native, said the city placed a six-month moratorium in August to stop rental properties from popping up while the task force works to find a solution. The task force meets every two weeks at City Hall to discuss the problem. At the Aug. 28 meeting, task force member Fred Abraham, homeowner and landlord, said the task force has come a long way since its establishment, but still hasn’t made the progress it should have.  “We’ve made a lot of progress, but we haven’t solved the problem,” Abraham said. “We could be sitting here chewing up time, or the council could be working on other things.” On the other hand, Darrah says the task force has met its purpose and wonders if the task force needs to continue working. The mission statement of the task force is as follows: “To analyze the impact of conversion of single-family homes to rental units and to determine methods of controlling or moderating the negative aspects of single-family conversions in R-1 and R-2 zoned neighborhoods,” said the meeting minutes of the Aug. 28 meeting. The task force is also looking to update existing ordinances, which relate to property upkeep, such as the exterior of rental properties and covering windows with tin foil or bed sheets. Finding parking spaces have also become an issue around the area. “I want to see a change in density issues and parking issues,” said Abraham. While the task force is divided on coming to a consensus and a solution, the conversion of unrelated persons allowed to rent from four down to three would affect 318 4-bedroom single-family homes, if implemented. “We’re all different players in the same game,” Hurst said.