[R.O. 2008 § 6-1; Ord. No. 1575 §§ 1—4, 4-12-1993]
A.
Interpretation Of Municipal Code. Any Building Official
or other authorized City Official may enter any building, structure,
premises or land within the City to inspect or enforce the provisions
of the City of Creve Coeur Municipal Code in accordance with the provisions
of this Section. Notwithstanding any contrary provision of the City
of Creve Coeur Municipal Code, any ordinance, regulation or other
provision of the City of Creve Coeur Municipal Code which authorizes
City administrative officials to enter onto private premises for the
purpose of any inspection of the premises or any structure or improvement
thereon shall be interpreted in accordance with this Section.
B.
Inspection Warrants, When Permitted. Search or inspection warrants shall not issue out of the Municipal Court of the City of Creve Coeur, Missouri, except insofar as administrative inspection warrants are permitted to be issued therefrom by Subsection (C) of this Section.
C.
Guidelines For Administrative Inspection Warrants. Where no express or implied consent has been given to the City by
the owner or authorized representative of the owner to enter or inspect
any property for potential violation(s) of the codes of the City,
no entry or inspection shall be made without the prior procurement
of an administrative inspection warrant, designating the scope of
the inspection, from a judge of the Creve Coeur Municipal Court, who
is hereby authorized to issue such administrative inspection warrants
in accordance with the following guidelines:
1.
Routine, general or area inspections. The Municipal
Court judge shall consider any of the criteria listed in (2) below,
along with such other criteria as the judge may deem pertinent in
making the decision as to whether the proposed inspection:
2.
Criteria for general or area inspections. The
criteria may include:
a.
The passage of time since the last inspection;
b.
Violations apparent from City records;
c.
The hour of the day during which the inspection is to be conducted;
d.
Age and condition of the properties to be inspected;
e.
Nature of the premises to be inspected;
f.
Similarity of properties in the area;
g.
Whether the owner or the occupant has some type of notice that
an inspection is likely to be conducted on the premises;
h.
Whether the City Official applying for the inspection warrant
can assure that disruption to the business operations of the premises
will be minimized;
i.
Whether the inspection will be conducted by civilian personnel
of the City or by uniformed public safety officers;
j.
Whether the scope of the inspection has been specifically and
narrowly defined so as to limit the discretion of the inspector;
k.
Whether the frequency of the inspection is or will be reasonable.
3.
Non-routine administrative inspections based on specific
violations. The Municipal Court judge of Creve Coeur shall
consider any of the following criteria, along with such other criteria
as the judge may deem pertinent, in making the decision as to whether
or not a plausible basis exists for believing that a violation is
likely to be found and that, therefore, a warrant shall be issued
for a non-routine administrative inspection based upon evidence of
a specific violation or complaint;
a.
Signed statement by an administrative official or field officer
of violations observed by them;
b.
Signed statement by an administrative official or field officer
of violations based on firsthand information furnished to the administrative
official or officer, designating whether such information was furnished
by an employee, tenant, competitor, customer, neighbor, casual visitor
or some other person;
c.
Tenant, employee or occupant complaints;
d.
The reliability of any information received by the City;
e.
Plain view violations;
f.
Violations apparent from City records;
g.
Property deterioration;
h.
Age, appearance and condition of the property;
i.
Seriousness of the alleged violation;
j.
The public need for the effective enforcement of the particular
ordinance involved;
k.
Passage of time since the last inspection;
l.
Previous violations on the property;
m.
Any valid justification for failure to provide allegations of
specific violation so long as the discretion of the enforcement official
has been limited to prevent harassment of the occupant or owner.
4.
Refusal not to constitute probable cause. The
mere refusal of entry or inspection by the owner of the premises shall
not, of itself, constitute adequate probable cause for the issuance
of an administrative search warrant.
D.
Warrantless Searches. Nothing herein is intended
to preclude the validity of a warrantless inspection in the following
circumstances:
1.
The requirement of a warrant would seriously frustrate the important
governmental purpose behind the inspection;
2.
The level of intrusiveness involved in the inspection is so
slight or minimal as to justify a warrantless inspection;
3.
The activity has a high risk of illegal conduct and poses a
serious danger to the public;
4.
Emergency situations;
5.
Express or implied consent to the inspection;
6.
Pervasively regulated businesses; or
7.
In connection with such accepted regulatory techniques as licensing
programs which require inspections prior to operating a business or
marketing a product.
