Frequently Asked Questions

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1. What do I do if my neighbor has a code violation?

If you believe there are conditions on any property in town that might constitute a code violation, call 816-271-5342 to report the property address and a description of the problem to the property maintenance division. An inspector will investigate the report and if a violation does exist, notify the property owner that the conditions must be corrected.

2. What are the inspection and notification procedures?

The inspector conducts an inspection of the property to determine whether or not a code violation exists. If a code violation is verified, the inspector mails a legal notice letter to the property owner to request the code violation be corrected. The legal notice letter for common code violations provides a 10 day period of time for the property owner to correct the violation. At the end of this period, the inspector will re-inspect the property to determine whether or not the code violation has been corrected. If the code violation has not been corrected and the property owner has not requested an extension of time from the inspector, the inspector will proceed to issue a summons or order abatement. Extensions of time to correct the code violation are limited and require a plan of abatement and continuous progress. The owners of properties where weeds and rank growths of vegetation violations occur more than once during the same or successive growing seasons will receive one legal notice letter at the beginning of the growing season. Further violations regarding weeds and rank growths of vegetation during that growing season will be abated without notification. Weeds and tall grasses are in violation when they reach the height 7 inches.

3. What are the billing and abatement procedures?

In Code Enforcement, the objective is abatement of the code violation. If the property owner fails to abate a code violation, the City may elect to abate the violation.

When the city expends any funds in the abatement of any nuisance, the director of finance, or his or her designee, shall notify, by certified mail, the person against whose property the costs were incurred of said costs. The director of Planning and Community Development shall certify the costs incurred in abating the nuisance and administratively processing the nuisance to the director of finance, together with the description of the property. The cost of administratively processing the abatement to the director of finance shall be $75.00 per regular abatement action, $200.00 for large special bids and $600.00 for railroad bids. The person notified shall have 30 days from the mailing of said notice within which to pay the costs of the abatement to the director of finance. If the person so notified fails to pay the costs of the abatement within 30 days, the director of finance shall immediately, upon the receipt of this information, enter an assessment in the appropriate books of the city to be kept for that purpose; and upon the entry of this assessment a lien will attach to the property.

4. What are your summons procedures?

The failure of a property owner to abate a code violation may result in the inspector issuing a summons to appear before the Municipal court Judge. The inspector sets an arraignment date five weeks in advance. The Judge will set a trial date if the property owner pleads "not guilty."

Any person who has been found guilty of violating this section shall be required to pay a minimum fine of $25.00 for the first offense. Any person who has been found guilty of violating this section a second time during the same 12 month period shall pay a minimum fine of $50.00. Any person who is found guilty of violating this section a third time during the same 12 month period shall be fined a minimum of $150.00. Any person who is found guilty of violating this section four or more times during the same 12 month period shall be fined a minimum of $300.00 for the fourth offense and each subsequent offense. If a person is charged and found guilty of more than one offense on the same day, then all such offenses on that day, for purposes of this section, shall be counted as one violation.