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Bexley council adopts elevator maintenance ordinance after resident testimony
Summary
Council passed Ordinance 07-25 requiring landlords to keep passenger elevators maintained during residential tenancies; supporters said it gives the city enforcement tools, a resident described life trapped without a working elevator.
BEXLEY, Ohio — The Bexley City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to adopt Ordinance 07-25, a measure that requires landlords who rent residential units with passenger elevators to keep those elevators maintained and operational for the duration of the rental term.
Council members and city staff said the ordinance creates an additional local enforcement tool for buildings whose owners do not timely repair elevators. By adopting the ordinance, council gave the city authority to pursue compliance locally in addition to state or federal options.
Council Member Sam Marcelino, who introduced the ordinance at third reading, said the measure is meant to prompt faster repairs where owners have not shown interest in fixing elevators. "It at least gives us some extra tools to try to move these projects along where the owner of the property has not shown any interest in fixing their elevators," Marcelino said during the meeting.
A resident of a four‑story apartment building, Arthur Ruburg, told the council that elevator failures have had major effects on his mobility. "I have been wheelchair bound since a stroke in 02/2009," Ruburg said. He described a multiweek outage that forced his household to move temporarily and a separate incident when he said he and family members had to carry his wheelchair up four flights of stairs. "When the elevator does not work, it means I'm stuck either out or in the apartment," he told council.
Council members asked staff how the new ordinance would interact with state or federal enforcement, including potential Americans with Disabilities Act implications. Staff and proponents said remedies under state or federal law remain available and that the local rule is designed to provide more rapid, neighborhood‑level response.
The motion to approve Ordinance 07-25 was made by Council Member Sam Marcelino and seconded by Council Member Jonathan Markham. The roll call vote recorded: Marcelino — yes; Silverman — yes; Markham — yes; Hurley — yes; Lampe — yes; Saad — yes; Bridal — yes. The ordinance passed.
The measure does not itself specify funding to repair elevators; it establishes maintenance and enforcement requirements. City staff said they will administer the ordinance through the service and code functions and will bring implementation details, including enforcement steps, to future administrative guidance or reports.
