Residential code violations up by 12% in Columbia; roll carts, trash lead the way with 35% of violations
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
The City of Columbia’s Neighborhood Services department says it handled nearly 6,000 residential code issues during the 2024 fiscal year.
According to the Neighborhood Service Department, the city dealt with 5,957 residential code issues which is a 12% increase from last year. These code issues cover a wide variety of residential property issues ranging from unkept lawns to structural issues.
“It hopefully says to our residents that we have city staff that are just consistently working on issues, especially in our residential areas,” Neighborhood Services Manager Leigh Kottwitz said.
Of the nearly 6,000 cases handled, solid waste issues made up the bulk of them. Roll cart violations and reports of trash being put out too early made up 2,056 of the cases reported. However, Kottwitz doesn't believe the implementation of roll carts played a factor in the overall increase in code issues.
“A few years ago, there was an additional code enforcement specialist, another staff person in our office who was hired specifically to work on solid waste issues. And that was well before we had roll carts and the first year that person was on our staff, we did see an increase in solid waste cases and it's really kind of leveled off since then,” Kottwitz said. “With roll carts, there was a lot of work done in advance to tell people they're coming; here's how they operate, here are the rules around using them. And so, I think that education in advance was helpful.”
Landscape management, such as tall grass and weeds made up the second-most code complaints at 1,364. Historically the city has seen a lot of these complaints, according to Kottwitz.
“Of the little over 3,000 cases that we worked in the last fiscal year, about two-thirds were identified by staff and about one-third from citizens,” Kottwitz said. “So of those third, probably the biggest chunk were vegetation issues. So tall grass, weeds, those kinds of problems. And historically that's true is that we we get a lot of those complaints. Sometimes, it's just vacant lots that haven't been mowed. Sometimes it's a neighbor on the street that just hasn't taken care of their yard or a vacant house.”
Health nuisance cases made up the third-most code violations at 854. While the total number of code violations was only up 12% from last year, the 119 cases sent to the municipal court for prosecution is a significant increase from the 64 cases sent to city court in fiscal year 2023.
Municipal Prosecutor Robert Rinck said the city has developed a special docket for these cases since they're coming in so frequently.
According to Rinck, the first priority with property cases is to get the property in question up to code. This starts by weighing the severity of the problem and why the owner was unable to get into compliance (such as age, health issues, financial trouble etc..) For cases like that, Rinck said the city will decide whether to fine the resident, defer prosecution, or dismiss the case as long as there are no future issues with the property.
“Since we do get a good response from people, and to better our communications with them on what is expected for them to get into compliance, we have created a special docket that addresses only these types of cases so we can meet with the property owner or responsible party along with the inspectors and develop a plan for a satisfactory resolution,” Rinck told ABC 17 News in a statement.
The hearings are held on the first Tuesday of every month at 10:30 am. Rinch said they were initially scheduled for 11 a.m., but had to be moved up a half hour in order to meet the demand of the increased number of cases.
Kottwitz believes the high volume of residential code issues being handled is a positive sign for the city.
“When you think about trash, debris, tall grass, there are some health consequences, if those persist. When you think about our neighborhood areas, if your neighbor is dealing with these problems right across the property line, it could be a problem for you where you live,” Kottwitz said. “ One of the other reasons this is important is for property values, right? Because if you own your own home it is a big investment, you want to protect that. You want to take care of your neighborhood. And if there are properties around you that need attention, then that would be a good reason for us to pursue those violations as well so that we can protect our property values and the quality of life for residents where they live.”
Ward 1 Councilwoman Valerie Carroll cited the city's attempts to maintain affordable housing by retaining some of its existing properties. Because of this, inspection of some of these properties could have factored into the increase.
“It's important that we maintain high standards for housing maintenance so that we're able to retain our existing housing stock,” Carroll told ABC 17 News. “It's not possible for us to keep up with the housing needs of our community solely by building new housing if we're constantly losing housing due to maintenance issues.”
