Colorado judge calls students "innocent victims" after being forced from affordable housing units in Boulder

A judge in Boulder has told the city and the owners of Ash House apartments to find a solution to make sure students forced out of the building have safe places to stay.  The City of Boulder ordered the immediate evacuation Monday after finding unpermitted work in 13 of the 16 units after the owners, 891 12th LLC,  built a fourth bedroom in some of the apartments.

The city inspected the building after receiving a tenant complaint and found those unpermitted bedrooms in 13 of the 16 apartments.

The city argued that unpermitted building created dangerous conditions because of potential over-crowding and blocking some sprinkler systems. The owners filed an emergency Temporary Restraining Order to prevent the city from enforcing the move-out order. The judge ruled that the order can remain in place until noon on Oct. 8 when another court date between the owners and city is scheduled. That means the students who were allowed to stay in the building can continue to live there until that hearing.

The building owner has agreed to take out the unpermitted work as quickly as possible and work with the city to get the correct permits in place. The hope is to complete that work in two weeks.

The judge repeatedly called the students the "innocent victims" of the actions of both parties. He said both the building owners and the city should have worked to find shelter or hotel rooms for the students rather than simply giving them a phone number to the CU Off Campus office.

During the hearing, the city outlined its concerns that the students were in imminent danger because some rooms did not have egress and there could be problems getting out of the building in case of emergency, like a fire.

The judge pointed out the city did not follow the proper procedure in issuing the evacuation order because it did not refer to the proper building codes and did not detail what posed the imminent danger.

He encouraged both parties to work out an agreement during the break, especially when it came to housing for the residents.  The attorney for the building's owner told the court there is now space for all the students who still have leases at the Ash House to safely live there while repairs are made because a number of tenants have already terminated their leases. The city attorney argued the building remains unsafe.

Even while setting a court date for October, the judge sternly told both parties they needed to continue mediation outside of court proceedings.

A CBS Colorado crew went by Ash House during the proceedings where some students were moving out and others said they were already making arrangements to live somewhere else.

The city of Boulder posted this statement about the court decision: At its core, the city's actions regarding Ash House building violations are about life-safety. We believe the current conditions at this building present an immediate life-safety risk to the people living there. While we are disappointed in today's outcome, the city will be complying with the court's ruling. We are, however, pleased that the property owners have acknowledged the life-safety issues at the property and have committed to restoring it to its approved condition.

We recognize how difficult this situation has been for the impacted students, but we cannot look the other way when we believe community members could be in danger. As an organization, we are committed to protecting the life-safety of these students, and all community members, and holding the property owners accountable. We are exploring all possible options at this point.