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HomeMy Public PortalAbout2022-01-11 minutesCity of Jefferson Historic Preservation Commission Minutes Regular Meeting – Tuesday, January 6, 2022 Council Chambers – John G. Christy Municipal Building 320 E. McCarty Street/Virtual WebEx Meeting Commission Members Present Attendance Record Donna Deetz, Chairperson 1 of 1 Alan Wheat, Vice Chairperson 1 of 1 Gail Jones 1 of 1 Tiffany Patterson 1 of 1 Brad Schaefer 1 of 1 Commission Members Absent Attendance Record Steven Hoffman 0 of 1 Michael Berendzen 0 of 1 Council Liaison Present Laura Ward Staff Present Rachel Senzee, Neighborhood Services Supervisor Karlie Reinkemeyer, Neighborhood Services Specialist Dave Helmick, Property and Housing Inspector Guests Present Michael Shine, News Tribune Ron Fitzwater, Councilman Ward 4 Call to Order Ms. Deetz called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. Adoption of Agenda Ms. Patterson moved and Mr. Wheat seconded to adopt the agenda as amended. The motion passed unanimously. Approval of Regular Meeting Minutes Mr. Wheat moved and Ms. Patterson seconded to approve the minutes from the December 14, 2021, Regular Meeting as written. The motion passed unanimously. Other Business A. Dangerous Building Processes and Current Status Dave Helmick, Property and Housing Inspector gave a presentation on the Dangerous Building process. Mr. Helmick explained that the purpose of the Dangerous Building Ordinance is to provide a just, equitable, and practicable method for the repairing, vacation, or demolition of buildings or structures that may endanger the life, limb, health, property, safety, or welfare of the occupants of such buildings or the general public. Mr. Helmick stated that the Dangerous Building ordinance can be found in the City Code Sec. 8-82. Mr. Helmick explained the ordinance: Sec. 8-82. - Dangerous buildings defined  All buildings or structures that are detrimental to the health, safety, or welfare of the residents of the City of Jefferson and that have any or all of the following defects shall be deemed "dangerous buildings": A. Those with interior walls or other vertical structural members that list, lean, or buckle to such an extent that a plumb line passing through the center of gravity falls outside the middle third of its base. B. Those that, exclusive of the foundation, show 33 percent or more damage or deterioration of the supporting member or members or 50 percent damage or deterioration of the non- supporting enclosing or outside walls or covering. C. Those that have improperly distributed loads upon the floors or roofs, or in which the same are overloaded or that have insufficient strength to be reasonably safe for the purpose used. D. Those that have been damaged by fire, wind, or other causes so as to become dangerous to life, safety, or the general health and welfare of the occupants or the people of the City. E. Those that are so dilapidated, decayed, unsafe, unsanitary, or that so utterly fail to provide the amenities essential to decent living that they are unfit for human habitation, or are likely to cause sickness or disease, so as to work injury to the health, safety, or welfare of those occupying such building. F. Those buildings built in violation of any safety provision of the building code, electrical code, plumbing code, mechanical code, minimum housing standards code, or the fire prevention code of the City, or used in violation thereof. G. Those having light, air, and sanitation facilities that are inadequate to protect the health, safety, or general welfare of human beings who live or may live therein. H. Those having inadequate facilities for egress in case of fire or panic or those having insufficient stairways, elevators, fire escapes, or other adequate means of evacuation. I. Those that have parts thereof that are so attached that they may fall and injure members of the public or property. J. Those that are a fire hazard existing or erected in violation of the terms of this article or any ordinance of this City or statute of the State of Missouri. K. Those that because of their condition are unsafe, unsanitary, or dangerous to the health, safety, or general welfare of the people of this City. Mr. Helmick stated that the dangerous building process is very long and in-depth. He stated that Code Enforcement does not go out looking for dangerous properties. Instead, they are alerted by the Fire Department, Police Department, Department of Mental Health, Animal Control, and other agencies that there is an issue at a property. Code Enforcement then inspects the property and issues a notice to the owner of the property which allows them 30 days to commence action on abating the dangerous conditions at the respective property. If no action is commenced after 30 days a hearing is called. If the owner is reachable the hearing has to be scheduled out a minimum of 15 days out. If the owner cannot be reached via certified mail then the hearing is published in the newspaper for 4 consecutive weeks at least 45 days in advance of the hearing. Mr. Helmick stated that a notice goes to all involved parties including banks with liens and others listed on the title report. At the end of the hearing, the finding of fact is issued by the Administrative Hearing Officer. The Hearing Officer can find that in fact the property is in violation of the ordinance and gives 30 days for the property owner to commence corrective actions on the repairs. If the owner complies, the case is closed and the City monitors corrective actions. If the owner is non-compliant, the City will take the following steps: The City abates the violations: The city receives bids and commences repairs. • The city secures the structure and prepares for possible future abatement • The owner may receive a summons to appear in Municipal Court for misdemeanor offenses. • If the cost to repair is 50% or more of the assessed value of the structure the City shall demolish the dangerous structure. Sec. 8-87. A & RSMO 67.410 Mr. Helmick stated the entire process takes 4-6 months to get to the point of City action. Due to the lack of funding, many properties sit secured waiting for future abatement. Mr. Helmick stated that from January 2019-January 2022, the City has declared 94 structures dangerous under Chapter 8 Article VI Dangerous Building Regulations. Of the 94 structures:  49 remain active and in some stage of the process.  45 are closed  33 were closed due to the owner of the property commencing action and removing the dangerous conditions  12 were abated by the City after non-compliance from the owners  2 Fire Burns  1 Unsanitary Condition  9 Structural – storm damage, neglect, structural failure Mr. Helmick presented photos of dangerous buildings for example. Ms. Deetz asked how long the City gives and/or works with owners to make repairs to their dangerous property. Mr. Helmick stated they must commence an action within 30 days of receiving the notice. Mr. Helmick said if property owners are making a good faith effort and are actively working on it, it could take some time. Mr. Helmick said they try to let the correction period go for as long as needed without the City needing to expend funds. Ms. Deetz asked how often do the banks step in and do anything. Mr. Helmick said that usually when the banks get involved it's before it gets to the hearing process. For example, if the bank has a note on the property they act very quick to contact the person that has the lien. Ms. Deetz asked if anyone can access the list of dangerous buildings. Mr. Helmick explained that the information is public and once it gets to the hearing process he puts it on the City website. Mr. Helmick stated that some properties are hoarding situations and the City would like to keep those instances private out of respect to the family. Mr. Helmick said that some of the 49 properties on the list won’t make it to the hearing process because property owners are actively working on corrective actions. Ms. Deetz said in the past there was talk about rental property inspections before people moved in. She asked if there has been further discussion on this. Mr. Helmick said every year he does landlord registration which is due at the end of January. Mr. Helmick said about 1,700 properties are rentals and the Code Enforcement staff conducts a full exterior inspection of the properties. Code Enforcement staff conducts these inspections from common areas and areas that are accessible to the mailman or the public. Code Enforcement does not inspect individual units. Mr. Helmick said the City relies on the tenants and people to report issues through the citizen portal on the City website to anonymously report concerns. B. Historic Preservation Code Revision Committee Update Ms. Senzee gave explained that at the January 6th Code Revision Committee meeting, Vanessa Adams- Harris (Tulsa, OK) spoke about what to do with historic properties that are no longer present. Ms. Senzee stated that many grants from the National Parks Service are focused on disparate impacts that have occurred in minority communities. Ms. Senzee stated that Tulsa, OK is at the forefront because of the massacre that occurred in 1921 and urban development. Ms. Senzee stated that cities are wondering what to do at the national and local levels. Ms. Reinkemeyer stated the meeting is available for viewing on the City’s YouTube page. Ms. Deetz encouraged commissioners to attend the code revision meetings if they are interested. C. Preservation Month – May 2022 Ms. Senzee explained that Preservation Month is in May and then the Missouri Preservation Conference is the following month. D. Missouri Preservation Conference- June 13-15, 2022 Ms. Senzee explained that Jefferson City is the host city for the conference and it would be nice for the HPC to have a presence. E. Work Session Ms. Deetz proposed having a work session to discuss activities and plans regarding preservation month and the conference. Ms. Deetz said the group can also discuss other items the HPC wants to undertake and do some strategic planning. Ms. Deetz said she will set up a poll with dates to figure out what dates work best to hold the work session. She will also provide an agenda for the work session. Dates to Remember A. Next Regular Meeting Date-February 8, 2022. Adjournment Ms. Patterson moved and Ms. Jones seconded to adjourn the meeting at 6:56 p.m. The motion passed unanimously.