Parents buying big, older houses near the Kansas University campus and turning them over to their college-age children is a growing concern for long-time neighborhood residents.

The issue was brought to the forefront early Sunday when a KU student was critically injured in a fall from a roof at 1045 Tenn., an Oread Neighborhood house that’s gained notoriety as a party spot.

“It really is one drunken party after another,” said George Austin, who lives nearby. “It’s party central.”

Sara Anne Driessel, 18, Lenexa, remained in critical condition Tuesday at University of Kansas Hospital in Kansas City, Kan. According to Lawrence Police, the KU freshman went out about 3:40 a.m. onto the flat roof over the second floor at the back of the house. Someone inside heard a crash, went outside and found she had fallen to the lawn below. Driessel is a McCollum Hall resident.

A third-story door opens onto the roof area. There are no railings around the roof.

The house is owned by David K. and Misti Jones, of Lake Quivira. Their son, Kyle Jones, a KU student, lives in the house.

On Tuesday, the Joneses received a notice from the city of Lawrence to install railings around the roof area or remove the door leading to it.

Acting on a complaint, Lawrence code inspectors checked the area where the fall occurred, said code enforcement director Barry Walthall. The inspection was conducted from the street, and code enforcers didn’t seek permission to go onto the property.

“We saw what we needed to see,” he said.

The notice directing the Joneses to make the changes was handed to them when they arrived at City Hall to obtain permits for other work on the residence, Walthall said.

Police wouldn’t say whether alcohol was a factor in the Sunday-morning mishap.

KU student critical after fall from Oread rooftop (10-26-04) 6News video: Student falls from roof of house (10-25-05)

But a check of police computer logs showed officers had been sent to the house four times in the past six months because of noise complaints: twice in October, once in September and once in May, said police spokesman Sgt. Dan Ward.

The records don’t show what action police took, if any. Unless the person making the complaint requests that a citation be issued or officers find a violation of law, Ward said officers in such instances generally just tell the people on the property to quiet down.

Such troublesome neighbors are a growing concern to members of the Oread Neighborhood Assn., said James Dunn, board president. In general, neighbors are not happy about the neighborhood’s big, old houses being purchased by parents for KU students to live and “run amok.”

“The houses have been residences for single families, then it becomes something very different from what it was before,” Dunn said. “That kind of trend is a concern for the long-term people who live in the neighborhood.”

Dunn said 1045 Tenn. was one of two houses on the block purchased by parents for their college-age children.

“I don’t know what the answer is,” he said.