SECOND REGULAR SESSION

[TRULY AGREED TO AND FINALLY PASSED]

HOUSE COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR

SENATE BILL NO. 1114

92ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY

2004



3903L.05T


AN ACT

To repeal sections 67.402 and 82.291, RSMo, and to enact in lieu thereof two new sections relating to removal of nuisances.


Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Missouri, as follows:

Section A. Sections 67.402 and 82.291, RSMo, are repealed and two new sections enacted in lieu thereof, to be known as sections 67.402 and 82.291, to read as follows:

67.402. 1. The governing body of any county of the first classification with more than one hundred thirty-five thousand four hundred but less than one hundred thirty-five thousand five hundred inhabitants, any county of the first classification with more than seventy-one thousand three hundred but less than seventy-one thousand four hundred inhabitants, and any county of the first classification without a charter form of government and with more than one hundred ninety-eight thousand but less than one hundred ninety-nine thousand two hundred inhabitants may enact ordinances to provide for the abatement of a condition of any lot or land that has the presence of rubbish and trash, lumber, bricks, tin, steel, parts of derelict motorcycles, derelict cars, derelict trucks, derelict construction equipment, derelict appliances [and], broken furniture, or overgrown or noxious weeds in residential subdivisions or districts which may endanger public safety or which is unhealthy or unsafe and declared to be a public nuisance.

2. Any ordinance enacted pursuant to this section shall:

(1) Set forth those conditions which constitute a nuisance and which are detrimental to the health, safety, or welfare of the residents of the county;

(2) Provide for duties of inspectors with regard to those conditions which may be declared a nuisance, and shall provide for duties of the building commissioner or designated officer or officers to supervise all inspectors and to hold hearings regarding such property;

(3) Provide for service of adequate notice of the declaration of nuisance, which notice shall specify that the nuisance is to be abated, listing a reasonable time for commencement, and may provide that such notice be served either by personal service or by certified mail, return receipt requested, but if service cannot be had by either of these modes of service, then service may be had by publication. The ordinances shall further provide that the owner, occupant, lessee, mortgagee, agent, and all other persons having an interest in the property as shown by the land records of the recorder of deeds of the county wherein the property is located shall be made parties;

(4) Provide that upon failure to commence work of abating the nuisance within the time specified or upon failure to proceed continuously with the work without unnecessary delay, the building commissioner or designated officer or officers shall call and have a full and adequate hearing upon the matter before the county commission, giving the affected parties at least ten days' written notice of the hearing. Any party may be represented by counsel, and all parties shall have an opportunity to be heard. After the hearings, if evidence supports a finding that the property is a nuisance or detrimental to the health, safety, or welfare of the residents of the county, the county commission shall issue an order making specific findings of fact, based upon competent and substantial evidence, which shows the property to be a nuisance and detrimental to the health, safety, or welfare of the residents of the county and ordering the nuisance abated. If the evidence does not support a finding that the property is a nuisance or detrimental to the health, safety, or welfare of the residents of the county, no order shall be issued.

3. Any ordinance authorized by this section may provide that if the owner fails to begin abating the nuisance within a specific time which shall not be longer than seven days of receiving notice that the nuisance has been ordered removed, the building commissioner or designated officer shall cause the condition which constitutes the nuisance to be removed. If the building commissioner or designated officer causes such condition to be removed or abated, the cost of such removal shall be certified to the county clerk or officer in charge of finance who shall cause the certified cost to be included in a special tax bill or added to the annual real estate tax bill, at the county collector's option, for the property and the certified cost shall be collected by the county collector in the same manner and procedure for collecting real estate taxes. If the certified cost is not paid, the tax bill shall be considered delinquent, and the collection of the delinquent bill shall be governed by the laws governing delinquent and back taxes. The tax bill from the date of its issuance shall be deemed a personal debt against the owner and shall also be a lien on the property until paid.

82.291. 1. For purposes of this section, "derelict vehicle" means any motor vehicle or trailer that was originally designed or manufactured to transport persons or property on a public highway, road, or street and that is junked, scrapped, dismantled, disassembled, or in a condition otherwise harmful to the public health, welfare, peace, and safety.

2. The owner of any property located in any home rule city with more than twenty-six thousand two hundred but less than twenty-six thousand three hundred inhabitants, except any property subclassed as agricultural and horticultural property pursuant to section 4(b), article X, of the Constitution of Missouri or any property containing any licensed vehicle service or repair facility, who permits derelict vehicles or substantial parts of derelict vehicles to remain on the property other than inside a fully enclosed permanent structure designed and constructed for vehicle storage shall be liable for the removal of the vehicles or the parts if they are declared to be a public nuisance.

3. To declare derelict vehicles or parts of derelict vehicles to be a public nuisance, the governing body of the city shall give a hearing upon ten days' notice, either personally or by United States mail to the owner or agent, or by posting a notice of the hearing on the property. At the hearing, the governing body may declare the vehicles or the parts to be public nuisances, and may order the nuisance to be removed within five business days. If the nuisance is not removed within the five days, the governing body or the designated city official shall have the nuisance removed and shall certify the costs of the removal to the city clerk or the equivalent official, who shall cause a special tax bill for the removal to be prepared against the property and collected by the collector with other taxes assessed on the property, and to be assessed any interest and penalties for delinquency as other delinquent tax bills are assessed as permitted by law.

4. The provisions of this section shall terminate on August 28, [2004] 2005.


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