The City of Poplar Bluff and Building Standards Board is seeing increased success in rehabilitating or removing derelict properties.
There are several reasons properties end up before the Building Standards Board or on the Vacant Property Registration List, according to city manager Matt Winters.
Residences must be safe and sanitary. A building inspector may be called in if a property receives complaints from citizens and neighbors, or if it fails regular code inspection.
Properties must also represent no threat to public safety. An unsafe area can be one with “an accumulation of trash,” said Winters, adding, “A significant breeding ground for mosquitoes is also a public health concern that we pay attention to.”
The struggle to reform derelict, unsafe or nuisance properties is a decades-long process. Fortunately, progress has been made in the last couple of years by enforcing existing measures and budgeting for demolitions, he believes.
“More progress has been made in the past year or two years than has been made in 10-15 years before that,” said Building Standards board member Eric Schalk.
In 2021, the city sold 31 demolition permits and demolished 10 houses. From January of this year to the present, 22 demolition permits have been sold, and crews tore down six houses with a seventh on the way.
A property is usually sold if an owner cannot or does not wish to bring it into compliance.
Winters noted, “If it’s sold, it’s normally sold to somebody that’s going to make improvements to it, whether it be an investor or somebody that’s just looking for a fixer-upper kind of home.”
Enforcement of the Vacant House Registration has also boosted compliance since registration incurs a fee. Property owners have 30 days to make improvements to remove the residence from the list or file a request for reconsideration, otherwise, they owe the city $200.
Late payment fees can also be levied and delinquent fees may result in a lien on the property or its eventual foreclosure unless it is brought back up to standards.
“The vacant house registration, it kind of sat dormant for a while and really wasn’t enforced until the last three or four years,” Winters said. “We started enforcing that. And really, the goal is not to collect the registration fee. The goal is to get something done with the property.”
Altogether, said Schalk, some homeowners are “finally realizing that we are serious” because of these measures.
But the Building Standards Board is not meant to only be an authoritative body, but a resource to community members. In the future, Schalk wants to address ways to educate owners who do not know where to start with property improvement.
In their Aug. 11 meeting, he and other board members recommended Layron Milligan make his vacant D Street property less appealing to vandals and squatters by removing shrubs, branches and tall grasses concealing the property. Milligan is considering selling the house and was directed to board member Tony Chilton for advice on how to proceed.
Another homeowner, Dennis Barton, told the board he had made some progress but cleanup of his property was delayed by extreme heat and family health problems. Collectively, they decided to prioritize tidying the grounds of his Spring Street home and save bigger repairs, like the roof, for later.
“The one thing I think that people sometimes get upset about, they feel like we’re attacking them personally,” Schalk explained. “And we’re not, we’re just trying to clean up our city and make it more presentable. If they have questions we are a resource for them.”
Drew Haynes of Haynes Investment Properties LLC was not present, but submitted a letter explaining delays to the Cross Street house he purchased in 2019 were due to COVID layoffs and problems with contractors. They now plan to use AK Builders to renovate and add onto the house starting in October or November.
Six properties marked as new business were pushed back to September’s meeting: 911 Victor St., 1024 Nooney St., 2010 Arkansas St., 635 Don St., 839 Henderson St. and 1502 Cross St. Unfinished business items on the agenda were 1806 Wilson St., 1605 Woodrow St., 448 Lester St., 134 W. Harper St., 1010 Spring St., 632 Victor St., 626 Victor St. 321 N. D St., 647 Abbott St., 1115 Cole St., 1222 Cole St. and 1050 Cole St.