EVERETT – City officials cracked down on the crime-plagued Topper Motel on Tuesday, threatening to force about 70 people out if safety violations weren’t corrected.
Julie Busch / The Herald
Inspectors recently found damaged baseboard heaters, a loose railing, exposed electrical wires, and broken smoke alarms, light switches and outlets.
“The electrical and fire issues, when taken in combination, are potentially deadly,” city prosecutor Laura Van Slyck said.
After two hours of closed-door negotiations between city staff and the motel owner’s lawyer, a settlement was reached to vacate three units – including one that is supposed to be a storage room.
To avoid shutting down the motel, the city also required all smoke alarms and a second-floor railing be repaired by Tuesday evening.
“The outcome is everything we could hope for at this time,” Van Slyck said.
It’s the latest chapter in a saga that has included police drug raids and violence at the Topper – a place where the poor can afford to pay the rent but struggle against drug dealers and addicts, resident Michael Rea said.
Residents received letters from the city attorney Monday warning them of potential evictions, Rea said.
“I came out of the woods to the Topper,” said Rea, who left a campsite in Granite Falls to rent a studio apartment at the motel. “Right now, it’s either the woods or the Topper Motel.”
He said the settlement was “pretty good. Outside of a few apartments, we get to stay.”
The Topper and other motels on north Broadway were the target of drug raids by Everett police in 2002. City records show the Topper has been cited five times since 1998 for trash, discarded furniture and appliances, auto parts and weeds.
“Problems come and go,” said Yoon Oh, a Topper Motel owner and its manager. “I wasn’t surprised by the list (of safety violations), but by the time they gave me to fix it.”
Oh paced the hallway at City Hall, commiserating with motel residents while his attorney negotiated with city inspectors and prosecutors. Oh agreed to follow a strict schedule of repairs over the next few days. His progress will be discussed every two weeks with the city’s hearing examiner.
Oh said he didn’t have a problem with the repair schedule. “It will give us time to do each room,” he said.
“I’m the one who didn’t do the job right. I just got tired,” he added.
According to the agreement, city inspectors will walk through five units today, and repairs must be made by May 11. Tenants will be moved to other units while repairs are made to their old units. Those tenants will be allowed to move back once the repairs are made.
“We’ll continue to do that until all the units are made habitable,” said Leslie Tidball, a community prosecutor.
City inspectors need the property owner’s permission before entering a unit, city spokeswoman Kate Reardon said. The city was able to inspect six units April 21 only after a police officer reported safety concerns, she said.
“I’ve seen worse,” resident Brian Bean said. “I’ve lived in worse.
“Yoon is a nice guy who needs some help,” Bean added. “He needs to get some money together to get the place fixed up. Shutting him down totally is no good, because he’d have no money coming in.”
Bean and other motel residents praised what they call “Topper love,” or the camaraderie and support system among residents that helps those in need pay their rent when they’re short.
“I’ve seen people give their last $20” to help others pay their rent, Oh said.
He said he doesn’t immediately evict people who can’t pay their rent. “I try to be fair with people.”
“It’s not run like a business; it’s run like a family shelter,” said Nick Howard, an auto body worker who said he pays $770 a month for a one-bedroom unit with a kitchen.
City Council President Marian Krell said that with the leverage of the city’s community prosecutor, she hopes the problems at the Topper and other motels in the same area will be solved once and for all.
“These motels were not established for people to live there,” Krell said. “They were established for travelers.
“The amount of time police and code compliance spend at the Topper is out of line with the rest of the city. The owner has to accept responsibility.”
Mayor Ray Stephanson said he was pleased a settlement had been reached.
“Oftentimes, we find ourselves in the position of property owners needing to know we’re really very serious that corrections need to be made,” he said. “A big concern of mine and my staff was trying to find a way to resolve the violations at the Topper.”
Reporter Jeff Switzer: 425-339-3452 or jswitzer@heraldnet.com.
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