Landlords fixing code violations

City landlords are well on their way to repairing code violations after the immense backlog of safety violations was brought to light following the January death of university student David Ellis in his Knox Box apartment.

College Park code enforcement supervisor Jeannie Ripley said almost all violation appeals have been addressed in the city, with the vast majority of landlords making changes necessary to bring their properties up to code.

Ellis, a senior American studies and African-American studies major, died of smoke inhalation Jan. 24 after investigators said an appliance started an accidental fire.

Ellis' mother Rochelle said a malfunctioning toaster in the apartment sparked the blaze.

Though the fire was ruled accidental and there was no evidence Ellis had tried to escape, his apartment did not meet building safety codes because his window was too small. A massive backlog of uncorrected violations was uncovered.

Ellis' mother said she was frustrated with the safety of Knox Boxes, saying landlords seem unfazed by Ellis' death.

"I just don't understand how hard this can be - you have someone in a basement and you let them be in harm's way," she said. "For people to willingly take the money of people they know and knowing they're not in a safe place, how can they sleep at night?"

In response to Ellis' death, the College Park City Council enacted emergency legislation to expedite a process that would require all out-of-code buildings to be repaired, either through modifying windows or installing sprinklers.

Ripley said most landlords with safety violations voluntarily complied, specifically increasing the size of windows.

Though landlords were criticized for their lack of compliance with building codes, College Park Landlord's Committee Chair Dave Dorsch said critics did not grasp the situation.

"[Landlords] thought they were in compliance because they were built in compliance," Dorsch said. "These buildings were inspected regularly for 25 years ... and now all of a sudden they find out their windows are too small. And the landlords say, 'What do you mean they're too small? I didn't make them smaller. They've been the same size since it was built in 1920. Why all of a sudden are they unsafe?'"

Dorsch said landlords unfairly took the brunt of the blame following Ellis' death.

"People missed the point of that whole thing," Dorsch said. "It had nothing to do with the code violation. Everyone jumped on the code violation and turned the code business into a major, major conflict when there was no evidence he tried to escape."

With modifications being made to most units in violation, Ripley said the next step in preventing fires in the city is education.

Ripley said the city was interested in promoting a sober, designated monitor for house parties in the city.

"It would be similar the idea of having a designated driver," she said. "If they did that and kept things under control, they could have controlled parties more often and wouldn't have to have the big blowouts that are really unsafe."

Senior staff writer Kate Campbell contributed to this report. Contact reporter Sam Hedenberg at hedenbergdbk@gmail.com.