WATERLOO — An apartment manager has backed down on a plan to severely restrict the number of guests allowed in its buildings on St. Patrick's Day.

Students living in off-campus student buildings had been told a total of 35 visitors would be allowed in each building. The move was designed to clamp down on St. Patrick's Day festivities.

Late Thursday afternoon, The Marq Student Communities changed the rule, saying every tenant will be allowed to have one guest.

Wilfrid Laurier University student Paris Kiani had earlier said The Marq was stomping on students' rights by limiting guests to 35 per building.

"They are taking advantage of us because we are students," said Kiani, a fourth-year arts student.

Kiani, 21, said The Marq, which runs three buildings on King Street North ranging in size from nine to 11 storeys, is violating their tenant rights and their lease agreement.

She started a petition against the strict visitor restrictions. By Thursday afternoon it had 845 signatures.

In an email sent to tenants, The Marq said it was trying to reduce potential fire code and overcrowding issues.

The news that the restriction has been eased didn't satisfy Kiani.

"They still can't put a restriction on the number of guests," she said. "It's still not OK."

Kiani, who has attended the St. Patrick's Day party each year she has been at Laurier, will join an expected 20,000 people for the annual street gathering on Ezra Avenue just outside her building.

This year's party is slated to bring record crowds because it lands on a Saturday during March break with sunny weather expected.

Waterloo Regional Police Chief Bryan Larkin said officers will be out in full force with no officers on days off and extra police from Peel Region.

"This has grown beyond Laurier, the University of Waterloo and Conestoga College. Enough is enough," he said on Thursday.

"Public safety throughout the region is at risk."

Police, along with paramedics, city bylaw officers, university administrators and student unions, have been planning for months for what they expect to be the biggest St. Patrick's Day party in eight years.

Three officers have been working full time on planning for St. Patrick's Day, Larkin said. A police command post will be set up at the Waterloo detachment.

Rob Crossan, deputy chief with the Region of Waterloo Paramedic Services, said four ambulances and eight paramedics will be within a four-block radius of Ezra; other staff will be on the street.

Last year, paramedics responded to 69 calls and took 44 people to hospital, all for alcohol intoxication.

On Saturday, Crossan expects calls could jump to 100, making it the single busiest day of the year for local paramedics.

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"We are confident we have the resources we need," he said.

Larkin said last year's party led emergency personnel to pause and think about how they needed to contain the event from growing any bigger.

"Where is this going in the future?" he said.

Larkin said the number of charges was down last year because crowds were large and there weren't enough police on the ground.

"We couldn't get in the crowd and we couldn't go ahead with violations," he said.

Larkin said he doesn't want to condemn students, but rather scale back unsanctioned street parties.

"I'm not putting a damper on St. Patrick's Day festivities," said Larkin, who encourages partygoers to attend licensed bars and restaurants.

lmonteiro@therecord.com,

Twitter: @MonteiroRecord

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