July 17: Cleveland Board of Building Standards and Building Appeals
Covered by Documenters Bilal Hakeem (notes), Denise Lykes (notes) and Emma Sedlak (live-tweets)
Sisters Haven in Cudell moving forward
Last summer, Sisters Haven helped save a home on West 99th by sharing a vision of a place where women and their young children could escape homelessness. Now, the local nonprofit is tasked with getting the formerly condemned home up to code, particularly for people with disabilities.
The home is expected to house “seven women and their babies,” said Julie Mallet, one of the founders of Sisters Haven. Families can stay for about one year while also getting wraparound support services in hopes of building toward independence.
During the presentation, Mallett explained that the house does not have enough room to build a ramp for wheelchair users. Mallett said that the lot the house is on is very narrow, creating barriers toward full Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) accessibility.
Still, Mallett said the home has already undergone multiple renovations to create more accessibility for people with disabilities. She named widened door ways, an ADA-accessible bathroom, and adding braille to postaged signage as examples. Mallett said they plan to create an exterior lift on the outside of the house for wheelchair users.
Sisters Haven also has a partnership with Laura’s Home, a fully ADA-accessible place for women and their children to go in times of crisis. Laura’s Home agreed to take mothers who they couldn’t accommodate, according to Mallett.
What we’re really trying to do is connect the women and the families in our neighborhood on the West Side with resources […] so they can come into a community and start to thrive.”
Julie Mallett, Sisters Haven
The Board of Building Standards and Building Appeals granted the variance to operate without a ramp.
No call, no show
The board also denied over a dozen appeals from Cleveland property owners who didn’t show up to contest their violations. The owners had requested more time to fix the issues. The types of violations included condemned garages, exterior and interior maintenance issues, and hazardous conditions.
The board hears appeals from property owners who want to challenge orders from the city’s Department of Building and Housing, Division of Fire and other housing related-agencies. Property owners typically appeal to ask for more time to resolve violations, often citing more time needed to get construction permits or work with tenants.
The board granted extensions to people who showed up to make their cases – except for one pair of appellants: Cecilia Li and Felipe Freitas.
Next steps for Edgewater home destroyed by arson
Li, her husband, Freitas, and their 7-month old child barely escaped their home after it was set on fire in the middle of the night last April. The couple attended the board meeting to explain the unique circumstances surrounding the property, which the city has condemned.
One main point of contention during Li’s testimony was over the condemnation of both the house and the greenhouse. The fire destroyed the home, but left the detached greenhouse unharmed, according to Li’s testimony. Freitas also said the greenhouse was not touched by the fire.
Li said that while they do plan to demolish and rebuild the house, they want to leave the greenhouse intact.
“The Building [and Housing] Department wouldn’t have any objection to the greenhouse remaining,” said Glenn Murray, Cleveland’s acting chief building official.
The board decided to deny Li and Freitas more time to address the violations and send the property to Building and Housing so it can keep an eye on the property.
Read the notes from Documenter Bilal Hakeem
Read the live tweet thread from Documenter Emma Sedlak
