Some students’ lawns and porches may be a little empty this summer.

The Ames City Council is currently considering a new ordinance that, if passed, would ban couches and stuffed chairs on the lawns and unenclosed porches of rental property.

“I think the idea here is there are occasional instances of sofas or stuffed armchairs being placed on a porch where it’s exposed to rain and weather and can get rotted,” said City Councilman Herman Quirmbach, 4th Ward, which includes Maple-Willow-Larch, Friley, Helser and Richardson Court residence halls.

Ames Mayor Ted Tedesco said a number of complaints from neighbors of people with furniture on their lawns to the council and city staff prompted the consideration of the proposal.

“I think it’s something that has been promoted because of irresponsibility of renters and it’s something that’s needed,” Tedesco said.

Quirmbach said furniture should not be allowed outdoors for numerous reasons.

“It’s unsightly and can cause vermin,” said Quirmbach, associate professor of economics. “It’s something that [the city] council feels needs to be addressed.”

He said people leaving furniture outdoors isn’t a huge problem, but enough people expressed concern that it was brought to the council’s attention.

Quirmbach said he has not yet heard from students about how they feel about the new proposal.

“I’m guessing that some students may feel it’s a bit of an imposition,” he said. “I hope they wouldn’t.”

April Young, junior in English, said she and her roommates sit on a couch while they grill on their Hayward Avenue rental property during the summer.

“I don’t like it because there’s times when we bring out a couch when we go outside,” Young said.

“I wouldn’t follow it,” she said of the ordinance she described as stupid.

Some renters could feel as if the ordinance was restricting their freedom, Tedesco said.

“I think in this case the freedom that you had before has to be administered responsibly, and it hasn’t been in the past,” Tedesco said.

Tedesco said renters who are not compliant with the new ordinance could find themselves in trouble with the law.

“If neighbors complain, the police will be out [to the rental property] to issue a summons,” Tedesco said.

The proposal has already passed the first of three readings, Tedesco said.

“It would be a surprise to me if it didn’t pass the second and third reading,” Tedesco said.

Quirmbach also believes the proposal will pass.

“At this point, I think it’s likely that it will pass,” he said. “It doesn’t look to be very controversial.”