APCHA board: Highlands Villas LLC violated deed restriction

The Aspen-Pitkin County Housing Authority board of directors upheld one decision and continued another on Wednesday concerning two appeals of decisions made by APCHA hearing officer Mick Ireland.

The board ruled first to deny an appeal from Highlands Villas LLC after Ireland found that the company had violated the deed restrictions attached to its lease with Music Associates of Aspen Inc., the nonprofit that supports the Aspen Music Festival and School. In 2022, MAA rented six units for music school students and claimed that Highlands Villas coerced them into paying rent for May through September, even though the units would only be occupied from June through August.

The APCHA board unanimously voted to uphold Ireland’s decision and deny the appeal.

“I think the ruling is appropriate, and there was not an abuse of discretion in this case,” said board member Kelly McNicholas Kury, a Pitkin County commissioner.

The board agreed that the decision was a clear one and that it was evident that MAA had signed the lease for the six units under duress. At a June 7 board meeting, an attorney for Highlands Villas argued there was no evidence of duress and that Ireland’s ruling abused his discretion and exceeded his jurisdiction.

Joseph Edwards, the attorney, said that under the legal definition of duress, the alleged victim would have had to seek alternative solutions, which he said they did not.

But on Wednesday, board members said they thought it was evident based on the fact that an appeal had come to the board that MAA did seek alternative solutions, and agreed that the deed restriction was violated.

“We’ve all talked about the dire need for housing, and Music Associates of Aspen had a real concern, and they signed the lease under duress,” board member John Ward said. “They stated they signed the lease under duress because they needed to lock up housing for people, and so they did that. I think this is a violation of the deed restriction.”

The board did not hear additional comments on the dispute from the public, MAA, Highlands Villas or their attorneys because the record was closed after the June 7 hearing.

Lease-termination appeal

Later in the meeting, the board heard an appeal from David Singer, a Truscott Place tenant who was appealing a lease termination. APCHA alleged 27 separate violations against Singer, including harassment and violent conduct against APCHA staff and other Truscott Place residents, dog violations, failure to maintain the premises and failure to pay rent.

Ireland noted in his ruling that Singer’s back payments were ultimately paid. The dog violations related to six instances of allowing his canine to run around the neighborhood off leash.

Chris Bryan, Singer’s attorney, argued that many of the 27 violations were not valid because they were legally waived when Singer and APCHA entered into a new lease in August 2021. At least 23 of the violations occurred before then, Bryan said.

He also asked the board to be compassionate towards Singer, who is suffering from long COVID and other health issues and will be homeless if evicted.

“I want this board to remember we’re talking about a human being here,” Bryan said. “He has been in a state of depression since this process began. … I would ask you to find forgiveness in your hearts for this 87-year-old man.”

APCHA attorney Tom Smith argued there was no evidence in the record to suggest Singer has a current health condition or that he would be left homeless if evicted. He also said Singer did not show compassion to APCHA staff on April 7 when he allegedly harassed them by banging on the windows of their office at Truscott Place and shouting at them. The incident led to his arrest.

“There’s nothing in the record to state that homelessness is the inevitable outcome of your decision,” Smith said. “Where was Dr. Singer’s compassion when he engaged in this conduct? … You have several employees out there who are scared to death of Dr. Singer, who lives across the street. Is that a tolerable situation?”

After hearing the arguments, the board asked a few basic questions and decided to continue the hearing to Aug. 16.

Megan Webber, Aspen Daily News Staff Writer