On 3/12/05 2:15 PM, "Michael Atherton" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> Bob Johnson wrote: > >> Once again, occupancy limit ordinances are irrelevant here since the >> three students were not killed by overoccupancy. You are really >> trying hard to ignore this fundamental fact. > > I always knew that the housing sweeps were BS. Dinkytown > is no more safer now than before. You need better > smoke detectors not fewer numbers of roommates. Those > kids were not killed as they were tramped on the way to an exit. Sorry, but as someone who went through the sweeps with my fraternity's properties, this characterization is wrong. The fire inspectors were checking for smoke detectors, fire extinguishers, etc. and making sure they were operable. They also looked to make sure that egress points (doors/windows) were not blocked. We had to tell one of our members to rearrange his room because his desk was blocking a window. And they apparently checked occupancy limits, since that's part of the fire code as well, which is what makes them relevant. Like I said with Steve Meldahl and his vacant house registration issue, if you don't like the ordinance, then work to change it. Now, if the inspectors were primarily only finding over-occupancy violations, that does not mean they were not looking for the other things. What it means is that maybe some of the landlords in Dinkytown have been getting an undeserved bad rap as far as maintaining the safety of their properties. Or maybe there was a mad dash to get properties up to code after the sweeps were announced, resulting in fewer violations for inspectors to find and cite. If I recall correctly, it was determined that the reason those three students died in that fire was because the occupants had disabled a smoke detector. Not an over-occupancy problem, but also not something the landlords really could have done much about unless you want to pass an ordinance requiring them to start screening tenants for common sense... Mark Snyder Windom Park REMINDERS: 1. Be civil! Please read the NEW RULES at http://www.e-democracy.org/rules. If you think a member is in violation, contact the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[email protected] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
