City May Be Limited in Silver Oaks Battle

Legally, it appears the current or future owners of the apartment complex have the right to rent to whomever they choose.

Whether the forced removal of a few hundred seniors from the apartment complex, either by eviction or simply non-renewal of leases, amounts to age discrimination is a matter for some debate. And it's not an easy question to answer.

Even the residents, their attorney and representatives from the Portage County Community Action Council are trying to determine whether the age discrimination complaints are the most appropriate course of action. Plans to file an initial age discrimination complaint with the Ohio Civil Rights Commission are on hold .

On the city's end, what — if anything — officials can do depends on what the future owners try to do with the property.

Gary Locke, Kent's director, said the property is zoned for multifamily housing. So if the new owners, Alabama-based Capstone Development Corp., don't plan to add more buildings, change the parking or put more than two tenants into a unit, then their plans would not go before the Kent Planning Commission.

Locke said minor renovations or changes to the property — like adding or removing interior walls, changing plumbing or electrical and other small changes — would only require building code review, which is done internally by city staff.

He said the primary instances that would require action from the planning commission are if Capstone wants to put more than two people into a unit — which would change the property use from multifamily housing to a rooming house use (three or more unrelated people per unit) — make changes to the parking layout or wants to add or remove buildings.

Locke said simply changing the age of the targeted residents wouldn't qualify for planning commission action.

And if the project doesn't go to the planning commission or the Kent Board of Zoning Appeals, there would be no public meetings — or chance for public comment — unless acts on or discusses the issue.

Kent Law Director Jim Silver could not be reached to comment as to what possible legal action the city could take on the residents' behalf.

There is still a chance for government action to slow, or even stop, the forced exit of seniors from the apartment complex.

Avery Friedman, the civil rights attorney representing the residents, said in a recent interview the Ohio Attorney General's Office, which recently started looking into the issue, could potentially file an injunction to stop the seniors from being removed by management.

"They technically have the authority under Ohio law," Friedman said.

Dan Tierney, a spokesman for the Ohio Attorney General's Office, said the attorney general's office will take whatever action is deemed most appropriate by the Ohio Civil Rights Commission, which will receive and review the complaints filed by residents.

"I can’t comment at this time if that’s something that we will do or not," Tierney said. "We know that the commission takes all of their complaints seriously, and we’ll work with (the commission) to pursue any action regarding this matter."

Owner Tell Real Estate Trust is planning to sell the property to Alabama-based Capstone Development Corp., which intends to turn the 13-acre complex into housing targeted at students attending neighboring . Residents must be out by Oct. 1.

This week, Capstone posted an update on an informational website created for residents to say the company does not yet own or manage Silver Oaks.

"We continue to move forward under our purchase agreement to close on the property on or before 12/31/11," the announcement says. "We also remain committed to working with the existing residents to help make their transition to other living arrangements as smooth as possible."