Ohio Board of Building Appeals rules for Oberlin landlord

City manager and fire chief not ready to give up

The Ohio Board of Building Appeals ruled this week that the City of Oberlin cannot retroactively apply state building codes to rooming houses.

The long road to the state courthouse began three years ago when City Manager Rob DiSpirto arrived in Oberlin. DiSpirto, working with Fire Chief Dennis Kirin, decided to increase enforcement of state fire codes. DiSpirto and Kirin believed the codes had long been negligently ignored.

"We're keying on the safety issue," Kirin said. "We don't want to become a statistic."

A number of landlords complained that complying with state codes was prohibitively expensive. Some landlords began to question the legality of the city's position.

"These guys said everyone needed a state license," landlord Glenn Gall said. "We decided we couldn't do that because the cost was enormous. The city was saying it wouldn't be so bad."

Gall willingly shelled out $25 for a city license, but refused to pay hundreds of dollars to apply for a state license. He promptly received a citation. The case finally found its way to the Board of Building Appeals.

Susan Zidek, Gall's attorney, said,"The key point of the decision is the city doesn't have the power to apply codes retroactively."

Landlord David Sonner, who has steadfastly refused to allow state inspections of his rooming houses, hailed the decision.

"I think what this means is it completely undercuts, if not totally destroys, the city's ability to impose these rules on landlords, so it doesn't leave them with much," Sonner said.

DiSpirto is hardly ready to concede defeat.

"We figured it was a long shot," DiSpirto said. "Things that happen at the state level are often political. We certainly feel we're in the right. We're trying to save lives here, so we're going to fight the good fight."

DiSpirto said the city is still considering whether or not it will appeal the decision.

Kirin said the state board is notorious for siding with home owners. He also said he believed the board was opposed to local home rule.

"The much more important level is the city level," DiSpirto said.

Sonner has recently received notice that he has failed to file for state inspection. He plans to appeal the notice to the city planning commission.

"I'm beginning to wonder why the city would want that to happen," Sonner said.

"I understand the landlord's concerns," Kirin said. "But tenants are entitled to some level of safety."

It's a real shame that in a town like this, we would have people totally reckless about safety," College President Nancy Dye said. "We've got some bad situations. I have said since the issue began that college is completely supportive of city's code. I think it behooves all of us to know where we're living.

Kirin and the landlords have failed to agree on even a definition of safety. Kirin maintains that ladders tacked on exterior walls as a means of escape are inherently unsafe.

Kirin said, "If it's after a party Friday night, and a guy comes home to sleep it off, and then if there should happen to be a fire, he'd have to crawl out of his window and down a ladder at three in the morning. Would you rather do that or just open a door?"

Gall's rooming house has ladders leading from the bedroom windows.

"I show kids how to get out of the house," Gall said. "I've never had a complaint."

"I've been lied to, deceived, harassed and violated," Gall said. "I've got a gripe with the city over the way this thing's been handled, and I don't know what they're going to dream up next."