Boulder officials announced Friday that the Ash House, a private student housing building on University Hill, is free of building code violations that could jeopardize tenants’ safety.
The Ash House, at 891 12th St., made headlines last month after city workers told the roughly 60 student residents to vacate their apartments immediately, citing critical safety concerns. The city made the move after learning that the landlord had done new construction, wiring and other work inside the building without permits.
The building was permitted for 16 three-bedroom apartments and a total of up to 48 residents, but the landlord added new walls and partitions to create four or even five bedrooms in some units. New electrical work had been done, too.
City officials have said some of the new rooms within the apartments did not have smoke detectors and that the new walls blocked access to fire sprinklers. The added rooms also reduced the shared living space for residents, which created further safety risks.
Boulder appeared poised for a legal battle with the landlord, who sued over the city’s decision to kick the students out of their homes. At a court hearing on Sept. 20, a judge ruled that, while the code violations in the building were serious, there was no immediate threat to the student tenants, and they were allowed to stay in the building for the time being. Meanwhile, the property owner and the city agreed to work together to bring the property into compliance with city code. Another court hearing was tentatively set for Tuesday.
According to a city news release sent out Friday, the landlord has “expedited addressing building code violations and restoring the property to its approved condition,” and there are no longer life-safety code violations in the building.
“We are pleased at the quick progress the property owners made to remove the life-safety violations at Ash House and restore the building to its originally approved condition,” Brad Mueller, Boulder’s director of Planning and Development Services, said in the news release. “These changes were essential to making the property safe for the students who are living there. While we know this has been a challenging time for the students, our building code exists to help ensure Boulder community members are as safe as possible in their homes.”
Family members of students living at the Ash House have said the situation was stressful, scary and disruptive at a time when the students were just starting a new semester in school. Some of the students have found living arrangements elsewhere.
According to the city news release, a stipulation to dismiss the lawsuit is being filed, per an agreement between the city and the Ash House ownership.
Get more Colorado news by signing up for our daily Your Morning Dozen email newsletter.
Originally Published:
