College and landlords debate

The debate between Oberlin College, city landlords and the city of Oberlin has raged all year long. It has been characterized by a multitude of legal actions involving all three parties, with the reputations and livelihoods of landlords as well as the safety of tenants at the center of the dispute.

Events were set into motion in 1996 when the city's legal adviser, Eric Severs, told the City Council that it was required by law to enforce its fire codes. According to City Manager Rob DiSpirito, "The whole reason we're in this pickle is that the city had dropped the ball for a number of years."

Landlords were then told that the city would hold inspections to ensure that all rooming houses, which were defined as properties which house five or more unrelated tenants, fully complied to current safety standards. When inspections were carried out in the summer of 1997, nine landlords refused to participate, holding that the investigation was illegal and that the wording of a clause in Chapter 34 of the Ohio Basic Building Code implying that the ordinances are not applicable when "Existing buildings where their location, parts, equipment, and other items do not constitute safety hazards..." meant that any retrograde application of current safety standards was illegal. Inspections were carried out in 1998 after an agreement was reached between landlords and the city early in the year.

Events intensified in March of last year, however, after College President Nancy Dye sent an all campus mailing out as a result of three recent deadly fires. The mailing was intended to inform students of landlords who had met the city's safety standards and to identify those "who refused to do so."

Five of the landlords involved, Betty Baxter, Carol Graham, Glenn Gall, Van Kirkendall and David Sonner, countered with a $75,000 suit against the College and Dye for "defamation and tortuous interference with contract and business relationships." Sonner said, "We are not refusing inspections, we are refusing illegal inspections. Dye is aiding and abetting illegal behavior." The suit claims that she altered information she received from the city and that many of her statements were not supported by any oral or written statements from the city.

On July 17, this suit was dismissed by the Lorain County Court, although the decision is still being appealed by the landlords at various levels.

On Jan. 20, nine Oberlin landlords, Baxter, Graham, Van and Kathalee Kirkendall, Glenn and Susan Gall, Richard and Elaine Hull, and Sonner, filed a civil rights suit in U.S. District Court against four city officials citing violations of the Fourteenth Amendment. The officials were accused of "willfully misinterpreting" state and city codes and embarking on a course of general harassment...to force compliance with their reinterpretation of the Codes."

With the exception of Sonner, none of the landlords filing suit have school year. They say at least 60 students have signed leases to live on property which is now unlicensed and that they may be forced to rent to many fewer people, which could seriously reduce their income.

This is complicated by the fact that on December 10th, interim dean of stuadents Deb McNish sent a letter to students saying that they must be certain that their landlords have obtained a valid license. According to the letter, 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 Federal Court threw out the landlords request for an injunction and issued a stay until other appeals pending at lower jurisdictions, such as the planning committee, the city council, the fire board, and the Lorain County Common Please Court. According to DiSpirito, the city has been upheld on all local boards unanimously on every appeal dealt to date. He noted the glut of appeals, saying "You almost need a score card to keep track of the various appeals."