City stands by its position that property currently poses life-safety risks to its residents

The City of Boulder has secured an agreement with the property owners of 891 12th St. in Boulder, also known as the Ash House. The agreement includes a commitment from the Ash House’s owners to expedite addressing current life-safety issues and building code violations at the property and restore it to its approved condition within two weeks. The owner acknowledged life-safety issues and building violations at a court hearing on Friday, Sept. 20, regarding temporary prevention of the city to require immediate evacuation of the structure.

“The city has been proactively working with the property owners on a resolution. Our hope is to make this property safe for the students who are living there as quickly as possible,” said Brad Mueller, director of Planning & Development Services. “We know this has been a disruptive situation for the students and are committed to doing what we can to work toward a fast resolution with the property owners and bring certainty to tenants.”

This agreement is the latest response to a closure notice the city issued to the property on Sept. 16 upon discovering the property owner created additional bedrooms without building permits, land use approval or life-safety inspections after city building inspectors had conducted inspections on previously permitted construction. The units currently do not meet code and life-safety requirements, and the additional bedrooms cannot be retained under any code scenario.

If needed, the next court hearing on this topic is currently scheduled for 9 a.m. on Oct. 8 in Boulder County District Court.

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