Room for rent” signs flutter in the breeze on every street corner surrounding the Ash House, where the fate of nearly 60 college students’ housing remains up in the air as the City of Boulder attempts to expedite the “safety” closure of the off-campus apartment building.
A “notice of building closure” sign, stamped by the City of Boulder Planning and Development Services, still sticks to one of the doors.
The Boulder County District Court will hold a hearing at 10 a.m. Friday to review the motion filed by the City of Boulder to dissolve the temporary court order stopping the city from closing the Ash House at 891 12th St., an apartment building on The Hill housing college students.
Initially, the Ash House was issued a notice of closure on Monday after the city said the property owners — 891 12th St LLC, owned by C.J. Chapman, according to Secretary of State records — created additional bedrooms without city approval or the proper permits.
The 15 new bedrooms were constructed without building permits, land approval or life-safety inspections, according to a news release from the City of Boulder. The property owners allegedly constructed the bedrooms immediately after inspectors completed inspections on permitted construction.
Boulder City officials provided the owners a four-hour notice that they were forcing residents out of the apartments, attorneys for the property owner said on Monday.
“We’re shocked that the City of Boulder forced dozens of University students out of their homes with hours’ notice last night, when there was no imminent or demonstrable risk to life or safety,” Rob O’Dea, spokesman for the property owners, told The Denver Gazette’s news partner, 9News. “For the sake of all our residents and concerned parents, we hope the city will choose to keep students in their homes as we work with the city toward a resolution.”
A court order from the Boulder County District Court temporarily stopped the notice of closure, noting that the city did not provide enough advance notice and residents only had a few hours to comply before dark Monday.
The city will attempt to dissolve the order Friday, potentially displacing 60 students temporarily and 13 permanently.
“The safety of Boulder community members is the city’s top priority, which is why we believe such urgent action is required,” Brad Mueller, director of Planning and Development Services, which includes the Code Compliance division, said in a news release. “The current conditions at this location do not comply with the city’s building code and present an immediate risk to the people living at this address. The building code exists to ensure minimum safety, health and quality of life standards for Boulder community members.”
Some students have for now decided to stay in the apartment, like Kate Bashore and Tatum Sullivan, who moved in only one month before being evicted. Others have already signed new leases and moved on, Bashore and Sullivan said of the students who used to live across from them.
Bashore and Sullivan, both out-of-state sophomores at the University of Colorado Boulder, had no idea what was going on Monday when they saw Boulder City officials knocking on doors while Bashore was leaving for class.
“We were confused, and then city people came and knocked on our door and gave us an eviction notice pretty much,” Bashore said. “They told us it’s a hazard and an unsafe building, so we had to be out by six.”
The property manager told them there’s no harm, even as the city is saying their apartment is unsafe, they said.
“We still don’t really know what’s going on,” Bashore said. “Right now, our plan of action is just kind of waiting.”
The two have toured some other places to live, but are wary of signing another lease since the future of the building and their ability to live there is uncertain, they said.
While staying in their apartment could be risky if the building shuts down for good, they said, so would having to break a lease if it didn’t.
Earlier in the week, when they thought they had to be out quickly, they skipped classes to tour places, they said, worried that if they went to class instead, they would miss out on a place to live.
“We couldn’t focus on school or homework because we didn’t know if we’d have to pack and leave,” Sullivan said.
The University of Colorado Boulder’s Division of Student Affairs is working to support students and provide resources and support services to help them navigate the abrupt and significant disruption, the city said.