NEWS

Oberlin takes heat from local landlords

by Tarika Powell

When College administrators sent out a school-wide letter last year prohibiting students from living in rooming houses that did not meet city licensing standards, they never thought that two of their own properties might soon fall into that category.

Much to their surprise and chagrin, however, Old Barrows, the all women's co-op located at 134 South Professor, and Allencroft (Russia House), a program house located at 207 South Professor, were reported by landlords Glenn Gall and David Sonner to the City Code Administrator as being illegally operating rooming houses.

Technically, a rooming house is a property with no less than five and no more than 20 unrelated persons living in it. Russia House and Old B fall into this category, the two houses collectively housing approximately thirty people.

The city solicitor now has to make a decision as to whether or not Old B and Russia House will be legally classified as rooming houses and is currently collecting documentation and information about the houses from the College.

Since the College does not have licenses to operate rooming houses, if the two dorms are found to be rooming houses, the maximum capacity for both houses could be restricted by the city to no more than four people. A daily fine of $100 per house could also be imposed on the College until the licenses are obtained.

Unfortunately, the city currently has a ban on issuing new rooming house licenses. This means that if Old B and Russia House are deemed rooming houses, a license might not be obtainable for them, and they might have to be shut down.

With the current problems involving a shortage of space on campus, students don't want to hear anything about being out of another place to live. But City Manager Rob Dispirito said students shouldn't feel like they may suddenly be out of a home; a feeling that rooming house owner David Sonner shares.

Sonner is among the city landlords whose houses have been banned for students by the College, and is one of six landlords who are suing the College for defamation of character and an estimated sum of $600,000. The College has banned these houses for not living up to fire codes which the state has in fact ruled they do not have to follow, because the codes were instated after the houses were licensed. The codes, the state ruled, only apply to houses licensed after the new code was passed.

The city and College, however, feel that these codes should apply to all houses. "The safety of students is the only issue in these matters," Vice President of College Relations Al Moran said.

The codes that the houses violate mandate two exit doors and a smoke detector wired into the house's electricity, rather than being battery operated. There can also be no ladders leading from windows. These codes were not in effect when the banned houses got licenses. In fact, when landlord Carol Graham got her rooming house licenses the city told her that she had to have ladders leading from the windows, but later told her she didn't.

The landlords feel that not only are these codes unfair, but that they have not been equally applied to the college. An example Sonner gives is that Old Barrows has a ladder leading from one of its third story windows. The ladder goes down to the second story, and then cuts off so that if someone were to use it, he or she would not be able to reach the ground. "You go down one story, then you get to jump," Sonner says. "I'd like to see Nancy Dye go over there and test that for safety."

Fire chief Dennis Kirin said, "If it was a rooming house, there could be a question as to [if the ladder] should be there." When asked if he would say it was safe since Old B was considered a college dormitory, Kirin said, "I wouldn't go that far, but since the state already issued a certificate, it was probably aware of the ladder. The landlords cite this as one of the many examples of what they feel is unequal protection under the law that is being given to the college.

Of this, the latest turn of events in a three-year battle between the landlords and the College, Moran said, "I find it unfortunate that wannabe whistle-blowers without a crime can kick up such a dust storm. Apparently a fax machine and idle time can be a dangerous combination in the wrong hands."

But Sonner feels that "The contrast between the standard the College has set and what the College has done or failed to do is very striking." The license for rooming houses has been required for about 30 years, and Sonner feels that the College's claim that they didn't know about it "shouts deep, lasting incompetence." At the time the law was passed the College even owned rooming houses, he said. Ironically, one such house, located at 171 W. College, is now one of the houses that students cannot live in.

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Copyright © 1999, The Oberlin Review.
Volume 128, Number 1, September 3, 1999

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