Jefferson City looks to change dangerous building city code
Jefferson City is working to change the process to declare a building as dangerous.
Declaring a building dangerous and declaring a property a nuisance currently fall under the same city code.
Building official Larry Burkhardt said separating the two will make the process more straightforward and prevent mistakes. The nuisance category includes tall grass, weeds or trash on the property but a dangerous building is structurally unsound.
“If it’s gonna fall down or if it’s gonna hurt somebody then that’s when we start looking at declaring a building dangerous,” he said.
The city declares a building dangerous as a last resort if the owner isn’t working to repair or demolish it, Burkhardt said.
“We talk to people first, see what they’re trying to do and help them as a service,” he said. “The only reason we go down the dangerous building path is when someone isn’t cooperating with us.”
The city council had its first reading of the bill to amend the city code for dangerous buildings on Aug. 5. The next council meeting is Aug. 12.
