Streets lined with homes harboring dirt-covered couches on the porches, stuffing protruding from every seam, may be a thing of the past since the Ames couch ordinance went into effect Tuesday.

The couch ordinance, which prohibits Ames residents from having indoor furniture outside, passed by a vote of 5-1 by the City Council April 8. “[Residents] cannot have indoor furniture on an unenclosed porch or yard,” said Ames Mayor Ted Tedesco.

The couch ordinance will help improve the appearance of the city, said Fern Kupfer, associate professor of English and Ames resident.

“The purpose of the couch ordinance is to have a healthier and more aesthetically pleasing place for people to live,” Kupfer said. “Ames is a beautiful college town.”

If couches are left outdoors they can become vermin infested and cause Campustown to not look as nice as it used to, Kupfer said.

“Couches are a health hazard, safety hazard and an eyesore,” she said.

Couch burning during Veishea riots also caused the council to propose the ordinance, Kupfer said.

The couch ordinance was first approved by the City Council in 2002, but was vetoed by Tedesco.

“I did not feel [the original couch ordinance] was fair because it only dealt with rental property,” Tedesco said. “It discriminated against people who rent.”

The new ordinance, which was completely rewritten, affects all Ames residents, said council man Steve Goodhue.

The new ordinance also has provisions that allow indoor furniture within screened-in porches, defines upholstered furniture and provides lower fines than the original, Goodhue said.

There are also home maintenance provisions, Tedesco said, including property upkeep and repair.

Tedesco said he believes the fine for leaving a couch outside is $500 because it is part of the housing code. Warnings can be provided to the tenants but do not have to be, Goodhue said. Tenants can be fined right away, Tedesco said.

Goodhue was the only council member to vote against the revised couch ordinance.

“My perception is that this is a university community and some of that is expected,” he said.

Despite added provisions to the regulation, the burden of the ordinance still falls on students, Goodhue said.

“If there are four people in an apartment and they leave a couch outside, [the city] can fine all four people,” he said.

Students are more affected by the ordinance, Kupfer said.

“Renters who are students have upholstered furniture outside,” she said. Campustown is going to look nicer without the couches outside, Kupfer said.

“Look down Welch. On one side there are three houses with litter and upholstered furniture with stuffing rotting out. Without that furniture there, it will look nice,” Kupfer said.

“Students want to live in a place that looks nice,” she said.