Rooming house safety: where it all began

The three-pronged clash between city landlords, Oberlin College and the city of Oberlin has become a tangle of accusations and legal battles rivaling the morass of the Presidential impeachment hearings. The one sure thing, though, is that the fight has been messy for everyone.

Over the past year, a string of legal events has developed surrounding the city�s decision to enforce regulations on rooming houses. On the legal stage, a suit against the College, criminal proceedings against landlords, an investigation of the fire inspector and most recently, a civil rights suit against the city have marked the busy year. The stage for battle, however, was actually set two years ago.

In 1996, the city�s legal adviser, Eric Severs, told the City Council that it was required by law to enforce its fire codes, which previous administrations had neglected. �The whole reason we�re in this pickle is that the city had dropped the ball for a number of years,� said City Manager Rob DiSpirito last October.

In August of 1996, landlords received a letter from DiSpirito, Fire Chief Dennis Kirin, and City Code Administrator Marshall Whitehead stating the city�s intention to initiate steps �to bring all new and existing rooming houses into full compliance with current safety standards.�

These regulations stated that rooming houses which had more than two floors were required to have a second means of exit � exterior ladders did not qualify � and interconnected fire detectors. Rooming houses are defined as buildings housing five to 20 unrelated people paying legal rent.

Inspections were carried out in the summer of 1997, but nine landlords did not participate, opting instead to protest these new inspections. Chapter 34 of the Ohio Basic Building Code states that the ordinances in question do not apply to �Existing buildings where their location, parts, equipment, and other items do not constitute a serious hazard�� These landlords believed the language of this clause protected them against any retrograde application of current safety standards and that an investigation on these grounds was illegal.

According to landlord David Sonner, who protested the inspections, an agreement between the city and the landlords was finally reached in early 1998, and inspections were carried out.

On March 11, however, College President Nancy Dye issued an all-campus mailing citing three recent and deadly fires in the town. In her letter, Dye said she was writing to publicize the names of those landlords who had met the city�s safety standards and �to inform [students] of the identities and addresses of those landlords who refuse to do so.�

Dye�s letter listed Betty Baxter and Glenn and Susan Gall as owning properties with inadequate exits. She also listed Sonner, Carol Graham, and Van and Kathalee Kirkendall as having �refused inspections.�

�None of us actually ever refused anything,� Sonner said. The landlords then filed suit against the College and Dye for �defamation and tortuous interference with contract and business relationships,� claiming that Dye altered information she received from the city, and that many of Dye�s statements in the letter, which she attributed to information from the city, were not supported by any oral or written statements from the city.

The suit also complained that the plaintiffs were suffering serious financial burdens as a result of the letter and that many students were seeking to breach their leases. The suit against Dye and the College was dismissed by the Lorain County Court of Common Pleas on July 17; however, the dismissal is being appealed.

Fire Chief Kirin cited to the municipal court five of the landlords for violation of the fire code. Criminal charges were filed against them.

At about the same time, the landlords appealed the city�s actions to the State Department of Commerce Board of Basic Building Standards in Akron a total of seven times.

These five landlords ended up in municipal court on criminal charges a total of four times over the course of that summer, according to Kirkendall. �We were cited directly to municipal court by Chief Kirin and denied our legal right of appeal,� he said.

In September, Graham, Kirkendall, Sonner and Baxter appealed the city�s actions to the Board of Basic Building Standards in Akron. According to Sonner, the Board�s decision was favorable to the landlords in all cases.

�It�s been very clearly demonstrated that [rooming house owners] only have to meet the building requirements that were in place at the time of the building�s construction,� said William Teets, an information officer for the Board.

According to an appeals brief of the suit against Dye, the Board found that there were �no serious hazards� in the rooming houses operated by Baxter and Gall and ordered the city to issue licenses to Gall and Baxter. The city has appealed this decision.

On Aug. 7, the Board of Building Standards passed a resolution directing the Ohio Department of Commerce to begin a preliminary investigation into the city�s building department, including City Building Inspector Kenneth Klingshirin. Klingshirin filed the initial citations for code violations against the landlords. Teets said the complaints filed by the landlords convinced the board to go ahead with an investigation.

In September, City Manager DiSpirito downplayed the investigation, saying the landlords were unhappy with the citations they received. �These are people who have had an honest difference of opinion,� he said. �We feel that Mr. Klingshirin�s done a good job and hasn�t overstepped his bounds at all.�

However, on Dec. 21, Klingshirin received a letter from the Department of Commerce saying that it had authorized a full investigation of him in his capacity as a state building inspector in response to complaints filed against him. According to Kirkendall, Klingshirin is under investigation for actions in another city as well. �He�s known for doing things he shouldn�t,� she said.

To add to the chaos, on Dec. 10, Interim Dean of Students Deb McNish sent a letter to students saying that they must make sure that their landlords have obtained a valid license. If a student failed to do so, �and the landlord is unable to obtain a valid license, the Residential Life and Services Staff will revoke your off-campus housing. You will be required to live on campus � If you have already signed a lease � you may still be liable under your lease agreement. As a result, you may be paying twice for housing expenses.�

The letter also listed Baxter, Graham and Kirkendall as having no licenses.

On Jan. 20, all nine landlords filed a federal civil rights suit against the city, DiSpirito, Klingshirin and Kirin for violations of the 1983 Civil Rights act. The suit charges these City officials with willfully misinterpreting State and City building codes and of �embarking on a course of general harassment� of student rooming house operators.

The suit seeks $100,000 in compensatory damages for the nine plaintiffs and $500,000 in punitive damages against the city. According to Gall, their lawyers� fees are approximately $100,000.

�Their point of view is rather limited, considering the circumstances,� Kirin said of the suit, which he explained City Hall had been expecting. �There are some egress issues we still have to work out.�

Second-story staircase: Recent suits will determine whether fire code interpretations by city officials were legal. (file photo)