A standoff continues between a recalcitrant landlord and neighbors around 96 Milton Ave., where community members and city officials allege the owner is continuing to move in residents in violation of a court order.
Activity at the large three-decker at the corner of Milton Avenue and Stockton Street has frustrated neighbors since the summer of 2016. City inspectors determined last fall that the property was being illegally operated as a lodging house for about 18 people, including a number of moderate- to high-risk sex offenders.
Inspectors found telltale signs like locks on individual bedroom doors and heated cooking implements in the rooms, according to Inspectional Services Department (ISD) Commissioner William Christopher, who said the findings indicated it was being used as a lodging house rather than the three-family dwelling for which it is zoned.
In February, a housing court judge ordered Kelvin Sanders, the owner of the property through his LLC, Last Layer Realty, to cease bringing in new residents until he begins using the house to a standard three-decker or gets approval from the Zoning Board of Appeal to convert it to a lodging house.
Dawn Barrett, whose house abuts the 96 Milton St. property, says neighbors noted at least five people who appear to have moved in during August. To her eye, it looks like members of vulnerable populations are being packed inside, including people with substance abuse issues and at least one sex offender.
Neighbors and city inspectors — who visit the house every week for both attempted official inspections and just to give it a cursory look — have seen people entering the house with luggage and in one case what appeared to be a refrigerator, Barrett said.
“We’re hoping within the next month to push this issue again,” Christopher said on Tuesday. “What we’re hoping for is the judge will levy some penalties against this person.”
Sanders withdrew an early 2017 proposal to change the house into a 24-unit lodging house, building apartments into the basement and adding rooms to the upper floors. So far, he has not pulled any permits to change the structure, according to inspectors. The judge’s order remains in effect.
“We did not let up on our lawsuit,” Christopher said. “We’ve been down this road too many times. It’s the only leverage we have.”
Barrett and Robin Saunders lead the Dorchester Unified Neighborhood (DUN) Association. The group’s members have opposed any option for the property other than converting it to a multi-family home. They say the efforts to fix the house or penalize Sanders have dragged out interminably.
“The length of time of the process does seem very long, and I feel like we’re constantly seeing people moving in, and that’s what’s so frustrating,” Barrett told the Reporter in a phone interview. “It’s not stopping; he’s not respecting the agreement and, in my opinion, he’s not caring what the community has said in regard to this matter.”
The city still has an open case against Sanders for the occupancy violation, Christopher said. To prove that the landlord is in violation, inspectors have been gathering evidence. They are limited by rules prohibiting inspectors from entering private residences without permission of the residents, which complicates efforts to take full occupant counts and examine living conditions.
Barrett said the neighborhood remains vigilant with any activity around the property. Neither she nor Saunders is pointing the finger at ISD for the slow resolution, although Saunders says it is a “disheartening” situation. ”I think the city is diligent on this,” she said. “It’s just that they’re following the rules that they have.”
Like other problem properties, 96 Milton Ave. is subject to city procedures, which can drag out for years, frustrating neighbors and officials alike by sapping time and resources. “These people are using the municipal process to their advantage,” Christopher said. “I have a problem with that.”
