For our Facebook Story of the Day you wanted to know; what regulations do local communities have concerning buildings that are badly damaged by fire or other incidents?
KTVO spoke with Brad Selby, Kirksville’s Code and Planning Director. Selby told us that for the structure to come down the city does have to go through a process; but sometimes that process can be complicated.
One house that we found in Kirksville that was damaged by a fire was the A.T. Still Mansion located across the street from Northeast Regional Medical Center.
The homeowners of the mansion decided that it was to costly to bring the building back up to living condition, so they decided to demolish the structure, which is almost completed.
Other cases can be more complicated. Citizens sometimes call in complaints to the city, which Selby then follows up on.
“Sometimes, for demolition of a house, it comes to us as a complaint from citizens; sometimes we notice them on our own. If we determine a house has structural failure or they burned or partially burned, we would do a demolition, all that involves is writing a letter to the owner station we determined your house needs to be demolished,” said Selby.
After the letter is received by the homeowner, the process of demolishing the house can proceed. The homeowner would have to pay for the demolition, but if the homeowner never responds to the city, the city can place a lien on the house, which they will then demolish and the land would become city property. Those cases do have to go through the courts.
Other homeowners just walk away from the property, because the cost of demolishing the house or repairing the house is just too costly. Those cases are also handled by the courts in some respect.
For more information on this topic, you are urged to contact the Code and Planning Department with the City of Kirksville.
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