Boone County’s hands are tied as residents raise alarm over derelict property

BOONE COUNTY, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Boone County property that was apparently abandoned for years has nearby residents frustrated.

But, the county says there isn’t much it can legally do. 

The property is located in the 8800 Block of North Brown Station Road, north of Columbia. Despite not having running water or utilities, multiple people have been living there for several years. 

The now caved-in house is filled with holes and trash bags. But that hasn’t stopped squatters from calling it home. The house -- which is located in a wooded area -- has trash bags spilling out of the doorway and wooden panels falling off the side of the house. 

A concerned resident, who wished to remain anonymous for fear of his safety, told ABC 17 News that falling asleep has been difficult at times due to the uninvited guests that moved in across the street. 

He claimed the evenings are filled with loud arguments coming from the house and the sound of a generator. Earlier this month, he says he heard what sounded like at least 30 rounds of ammunition being shot into the woods, and that law enforcement has been called to the house multiple times.  

ABC 17 News visited the property and noticed the smell of burning trash. Neighbors say the people living there breed pit bulls, throw buckets of feces into the woods and bring in piles of garbage collected from dumpsters across town. 

The Columbia/Boone County Public Health and Human Services was contacted about the property five years ago, and while an abatement covered by taxpayers helped briefly clean up the property, the issues still remained.  

“The owner has given these folks permission to live,” Norther District Commissioner Janet Thompson said. “There is nothing we can do.” 

Thompson says because Boone County doesn’t have a charter, like Columbia, the county is limited in what it can enforce on private properties. A charter would allow the county to adopt its own property maintenance code. Boone County records indicate the owner of the property has owned it since February 1993.

“Under our rules, we have to have permission from the landowner unless and unless we can see something from the street,” Thompson said. “If we don't have contact with the owner and can't get permission from the owner, then we're really stymied as to what we can do about those properties.” 

Former Boone County Detective Tom O'Sullivan was tasked with visiting many of these vacant properties while he worked for the sheriff’s office. 

After growing frustrated with the number of calls, he went to the state legislature to help pass a bill that would allow Boone County to create rules, regulations, and ordinances concerning rental and derelict property. However, O’Sullivan says the bill was shot down because some legislators thought it was an assault on property rights. 

Data from Amarach Planning Services shows that nearly 8% of properties in Boone County are considered vacant.