Judge rules that students can stay at Ash House in Boulder for now

A Boulder District Judge ruled Friday afternoon that students living in Ash House, a private off-campus dormitory on University Hill, can stay there for now.

The ruling is the culmination of a tumultuous week that left about 60 students kicked out of their homes Monday night and with nowhere to go. For safety reasons, city officials ordered the immediate evacuation of the Ash House building at 891 12th Street Monday afternoon.

The owners of Ash House immediately sued the city. In a statement, the owners of Ash House criticized the “unprecedented and reckless maneuver” by city officials to “evict students from their housing without notice and in complete disregard of the owners' due process rights.”

The landlord's lawyers asked the court for a temporary restraining order to prevent the city from enforcing its eviction order. A judge granted that order a day after the students were forced to leave the building. And although Boulder's lawyers tried to block the temporary restraining order, Boulder District Court Judge J. Chris Larson upheld the order on Friday and extended it until Oct. 8.

Boulder authorities argue that the Ash House building violates the city's building codes. Formerly known as the historic Marpa House, the Ash House was converted into student housing about a year ago, but the city ordered the building closed after the landlord was found to have been conducting unauthorized construction and other work in the building.

For example, the building was supposed to have 16 three-bedroom apartments for up to 48 residents, but the landlord allegedly added additional walls and partitions to create four or even five bedrooms in some units. The electrical wiring was also updated. City officials said some of the new rooms in the apartments did not have smoke detectors and the new walls blocked access to sprinkler systems. The additional rooms also reduced the residents' shared living space, creating further safety risks.

At Friday's hearing, Luis Toro, a Boulder attorney, said the city maintains its position that the building is unsafe, that students should not live there and that immediately vacating the building is the “only solution.”

While the landlord's attorney, Andy Peters, acknowledged that building codes were violated at Ash House, he argued that there was no immediate danger to the students that would justify the city forcing them to leave the building on Monday.

Moreover, the city's decision to close the building came without warning. Students and parents said they were informed Monday afternoon that all tenants would have to vacate the building by 6 p.m. that day. Students were left scrambling to find a place to stay for the night, and at least 13 of them were believed to need new permanent housing.

Larson sided with the landlord, saying that while the building code violations raised serious safety concerns, the city was not justified in taking the “extraordinary” measure of putting students on the street with several hours' warning. Larson said he believed the city's safety concerns were well-intentioned, but that suddenly vacating the building caused “irreparable harm” to students.

“The impact … goes beyond mere accommodation. The court takes note of the fact that these are students who have only just started their semester. This can have an impact on their studies, their grades and their general well-being,” he said.

Larson also criticized the city government and building owners for doing little to help the students who were suddenly homeless. The city gave the tenants a phone number for student housing at the University of Colorado Boulder, but did not provide them with housing or shelter as of Monday night. The landlord also did not offer the students immediate housing, but is now offering to pay for their hotel rooms.

After the hearing, some family members of students who live at Ash House expressed dissatisfaction with the way the trial was conducted, blaming both the city and the landlord for failing to stand up for the students, who they said were stressed and frightened by the events of the week.

“It's really ridiculous how they're passing the problems back and forth between the city and the building owners' representatives, and they're not taking responsibility,” said Maria, a mother of two Ash House tenants who asked that her last name not be used for privacy reasons. “… We had to drop everything to figure out what was happening and how to help our children.”

Boulder also issued a statement saying the city was “disappointed” with Friday's court ruling but intends to abide by it.

“At the core of the city's actions regarding the Ash House building violations are about the safety of human life. We believe the current conditions in this building pose an imminent threat to the safety of the people who live there,” the statement said.

“We know how difficult this situation has been for the students involved, but we cannot look away when we believe community members may be in danger. As an organization, we have an obligation to protect the lives of these students and all community members and to hold the property owners accountable. We are currently evaluating all possible options.”

The next hearing on the case will be held at 9 a.m. on October 8th in the Boulder County Combined Court at 1777 Sixth St. in Boulder. The property owner and the city have agreed to work together over the next few weeks to bring the property into compliance with city ordinance.

Originally published: September 20, 2024 at 2:51 p.m.