Members of the University of Wisconsin student government said Monday they will be sending out a survey to gauge student opinion on the current resident leasing policy in order to gather opinions for the new leasing legislation that is up for a vote by the City Council Oct. 19.

The legislation would delay the date landlords could begin leasing their property to Feb. 1, instead of Nov. 15.

In order to measure student opinion, the Legislative Affairs Committee plans to release an e-mail survey later this week to obtain student information for the city aldermen, according to Associated Students of Madison Legislative Affairs Committee Chair Sam Polstein.

“We want students to make their own comments,” Polstein said. “We can show we had this really basic survey and this is what students think so we can clarify the issue for aldermen.”

The committee needs mass data to represent the opinion of the student body so students are encouraged to fill out the survey this week, Polstein said.

Polstein said the committee would also like to gain the support of other groups such as the Teaching Assistant Association, young professionals and landlords.

“It really is an issue for all ages,” committee member Zach Ivins said. “Older students are asked if we will be signing leases in early November. It’s early, especially before winter, to know if heating and other appliances work. It’s also too early in the year to know if students can pay the next year.”

In addition to the renting legislation, the committee began its first discussions on the new Downtown Plan released Thursday.

The most controversial issues for students were an extended lakeshore path, an urban lane in the Mifflin neighborhood and an apartment building height increase on Washington Avenue, Polstein said.

The committee would like to understand the student position in order to lobby for the cause, Polstein added, and the sooner student input is placed into the plan, the better chance students can have a say.

“Hopefully, we can get more student support and see what they would like to bring to the plan,” Committee Secretary Elle Pennings said. “[The downtown plan] involves all aspects of student life – the Mifflin Plan for example. I think students forget they have a voice for what goes on in the city.”

In future meetings, the committee would like to finalize what they will support and oppose in the draft, according to Polstein.

The committee also discussed the issue of medical amnesty, because there is currently no written, stated policy on the issue, which protects people who seek medical attention for illegal activities, namely drugs and alcohol, Polstein said.

ASM added a new subcommittee this year to push for medical amnesty in Wisconsin.

The committee is beginning its research to decide what kind of policy they would like to implement at UW.

“We need to first work on policy at the university level,” Polstein said. “But then, I would definitely want to push it forward. A lot of student drinking happens off-campus so we need to pursue it further to the city level.”

The committee hopes to implement a university policy by early November, Polstein said.