City leaders are talking about cracking down on nuisance properties. Here's how they handle it right now.
Nuisance properties have been a hot topic lately in Springfield city government.
At recent City Council forums, incumbents and challengers have answered questions about what they'd like to see to improve the look and safety of neighborhoods and how they'd like to see the city crack down on property owners who don't care for their land.
On Tuesday, City Council members heard a presentation from city staff about proposals to streamline some of the ways the city deals with weed and nuisance complaints.
And it's sure to be a continued topic of discussion as local leaders are supporting a statewide push to streamline the way municipalities are able to handle nuisance properties.
In light of those discussions, here's what you need to know about the city's nuisance and dangerous building abatement policies. All of this information was gleaned from a discussion with Springfield Building Services Director Harlan Hill and a review of city inspection documents, graphics and statutes.
Anyone can complain about nuisance violations to the city's citizen resource line at 417-864-1010, by emailing city@springfieldmo.gov, through the city's app, or by walking into the Citizen Resource Center on the first floor of the city's Busch Building, 840 Boonville Ave.
The complaint then gets classified as a weed/overgrowth, trash or a dangerous building complaint and an inspector is assigned to process it.
Inspectors can only view buildings from public rights of way unless the building occupant invites them onto the property. Neighbors can also allow inspectors to view potential violations from their property.
The city hires two inspectors for the spring and summer months to handle weed and overgrowth complaints.
Once an inspector views the property and determines there is a nuisance, which typically comes within 1-5 business days, the inspector posts a sign in the front yard with information about the type of nuisance.
The inspector then looks through public databases and tries to find the owner of the property to mail an overgrowth notice and order for abatement. The owner then has 15 calendar days to fix it or 12 days to request a hearing with the city.
On the 16th day, the city orders another inspection. If the property is still found to be in violation, the city will order abatement, and a contractor will come out to fix the nuisance.
The property owner is then charged for city services.
The owner can also be charged a penalty of $250 if the city has to mow twice within the same mowing season and $500 if they have to mow three or more times.
In 2018, the city received 2,039 weed and overgrowth complaints. Of those, city contractors cleaned 350.
Similarly to a weed or overgrowth complaint, an inspector is called out when anyone complains about a nuisance violation.
If a violation is found, the inspector posts something on the property and mails a checklist to the owner's address found on public databases.
For nuisance abatement, the property is reinspected after 15 calendar days, and the city orders a title search to find the owner of the property.
The city then mails an abatement order using certified mail, which can take up to 45 days, and then the city inspects the property for a third time before notifying an abatement contractor to complete the process.
At any time during this process, the property owner can fix the problem.
If the city fixes the problem, the property owner pays for the cost. If the property owner doesn't pay, the cost will appear as a special bill on their taxes.
In 2018, the city processed 3,769 trash nuisance complaints. Of those, 469 were found to be in violation, 275 were cleaned by the owner, and 194 were cleaned by the city.
Owner-cleaned properties were fixed in an average of 45 days after the complaint was received, and the city abated nuisances within an average of 90 days.
Dangerous buildings take the longest to handle.
Once an inspector finds a violation, the city orders a title search to find the owner, sends a notice to abate by certified mail, has a follow-up inspection and sends the owner a notice of a hearing.
Then, they conduct another inspection and the city and owner have a hearing about the property. A judge then makes a finding about whether the property can be demolished or fixed.
Once that happens, the owner can appeal the judge's findings.
After that, the city inspects the property again and gets bids from contractors to test for asbestos. Then, the city solicits bids for demolition, awards a contract and issues a wrecking permit.
At any point during this process, the property owner can choose to fix the problem themselves, but if not, the city will send them a tax bill for the abatement.
In a best-case scenario, if the city has to get rid of a dangerous building, it will take just under a year.
In 2018, the city received 730 complaints about dangerous buildings. Of those, 591 were either addressed by the owner or closed, and the city demolished 24.