Two months after the May 22 tornado, Jefferson City will begin full code enforcement in the tornado-impacted area.
Starting July 22, the city will begin enforcing all parts of the city code in the 3-mile area impacted by the May 22 EF-3 tornado, said Sonny Sanders, Jefferson City Planning and Protective Services Department director. This includes code violations related to accumulation of brush and debris, tall weeds and dangerous buildings.
Since shortly after the tornado, code enforcers have been focusing on violations that are complaint-driven or that occurred before the tornado, Sanders said.
Code enforcers will send letters to property owners who are violating the city code. Sanders encouraged those who receive violation letters to call the city inspectors who sent the notices to explain their situations and repair plans.
"If they haven't gotten their insurance back try to make some progress," he said. "We understand you can't take the whole structure down and you can't do everything, but do what you can to make it safer than what it already is to reduce their liability and make it safe for the neighbors and people in the area."
Sanders recommended property owners wait to receive violation letters before calling the city about their progress.
Under Chapter 21 of the city code, a nuisance is an unlawful act or an omitted duty that injures or endangers the comfort, health or safety of people; offends decency; is offensive to the senses; renders people insecure when using property or in life; depreciates the other people's property values or interferes with a person's comfortable enjoyment of life and property; unlawfully interferes with, obstructs or renders dangerous for passage of any public or private street, sidewalk, highway, stream, ditch or drainage; or violates Jefferson City's Property Maintenance Code.
Nuisances include tall weeds; trash accumulation; junked motor vehicles; conditions that could harbor rats, snakes or other vermin; indoor-use-only furniture being used outside; or dilapidated buildings that are unfit for human habitation, among other items.
Under Chapter 8 of the city code, a dangerous building could include several features, such as having been damaged by fire, wind or other causes "so as to have become dangerous to life, safety or the general health and welfare of" city residents.
Typically a property owner has 10 days to correct a nuisance violation from date of posting. If a property maintenance issue is not an immediate danger or would take more time to reasonably fix - such as repairing a roof - the property owner will receive 30 days to comply.
However, city staff will be more relaxed on this timeline, Sanders said, adding staff will grant time extensions if property owners show they are making progress and maintain communication with inspectors.
"We understand that it's not something that can be taken care of overnight or even in a 10-day period," he said. "We're looking at starting this two months into recovery, and obviously, people who have been working on their property, they don't have it done yet so we can't really expect someone to start now and have it down in 10 days or 30 days.
"We just want to be sure people are moving forward and making progress because the tornado-damaged area was not just a big swath of people not living in that area at all. People are living in that area, going to school soon."
City staff can also guide residents toward assistance when they call, Sanders said.
Individuals can call the Federal Emergency Management Agency at 1-800-621-3362 between 7 a.m.-10 p.m. any day of the week or visit DisasterAssistance.gov to register for assistance. People with speech and hearing impairments may call 1-800-462-7585.
The U.S. Small Business Administration also offers low-interest loans to businesses, renters and homeowners in areas impacted by declared disasters, according to its website. Individuals can apply for disaster loan assistance by visiting disasterloan.sba.gov/ela/ or calling 1-800-659-2955.
Several local organizations also are offering various services to those impacted by the tornado.
If a property owner receives a violation notice and does not contact the city and make progress on fixing the issue, Sanders said, city staff may contact him or her again depending on the nature of the violation.
The city strives for voluntary compliance, he added.
City staff wanted to begin full code enforcement in the area since it had more code violations and complaints than other parts of the city, Sanders said. They also want to ensure property owners are making progress, especially since they are worried some owners may consider "walking away" from their properties.