It is the purpose of this article 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, and this article shall apply to all dangerous
buildings, as herein defined, that now are in existence or that may
hereafter exist in the City of Crestwood, Missouri.
All buildings or structures that are detrimental to the health,
safety or welfare of the residents of the City 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% or more damage
or deterioration of the supporting member or members, or 50% damage
or deterioration of the nonsupporting 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 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.
(g) 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.
(h) Those that have parts thereof that are so attached that they may
fall and injure members of the public or property.
(i) Those that because of their condition are unsafe, unsanitary or dangerous
to the health, safety or general welfare of the people of this City.
All dangerous buildings or structures, as defined by §
7-181 of this article are hereby declared to be public nuisances, and shall be repaired, vacated or demolished as provided herein.
All code enforcement officers, fire officials, police officers,
or employees of the Department of Public Services may be designated
as Building Inspectors by the Building Commissioner for purposes of
this article. The Department of Public Services may also designate
code enforcement officers of St. Louis County working with the City
pursuant to a contract as Building Inspectors.
The Director of Public Services, or his or her designee, shall
act as Building Commissioner under this article.
Any owner, occupant, lessee, mortgagee, agent or any other person(s) having an interest in a dangerous building as shown by the land records of the Recorder of Deeds of St. Louis County may appeal such decision to the Circuit Court of St. Louis County, as provided for in Sections 536.100 to 536.140, RSMo., if a proper record as defined in Section 536.130, RSMo., is maintained of the hearing provided for in §
7-187 hereof. Otherwise, the appeal shall be made pursuant to the procedures provided for in Section 536.150, RSMo.
In cases where it reasonably appears that there is immediate danger to the health, life, safety or welfare of any person unless a dangerous building, as defined herein, is immediately repaired, vacated, or demolished and the property is cleaned up, the Building Inspector shall report such facts to the Building Commissioner, and the Building Commissioner may cause the immediate repair, vacation, or demolition of such dangerous building. The costs of such emergency repair, vacation, or demolition of such dangerous building shall be collected in the same manner as provided in §§
7-187 and
7-188.
The owner, occupant or lessee in possession of any dangerous
building who shall fail to comply with the order to repair, vacate,
or demolish said building given by the Building Commissioner or who
shall fail to proceed continuously without unnecessary delay; and
any person removing any notices provided for in this article; and
any person violating any other provisions of this article shall be
guilty of an offense and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined
not more than $500. Each day that a person fails to comply with an
order of the Building Commissioner shall be deemed a separate offense.