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Council routes dangerous-building appeals to circuit court to speed demolition process
Summary
The Independence City Council approved an ordinance amending the city code so appeals of dangerous-building demolition rulings go to the Sixteenth Judicial Circuit rather than a local board, aiming to reduce delays caused by quorum issues.
The Independence City Council unanimously approved an ordinance (25-028) on second reading May 19 that amends the city code on dangerous buildings to change where appeals are filed. The ordinance passed 7-0.
Under the change to section 4.010.003 of the Independence City Code, once a hearing is held at the city and a property owner wishes to appeal a dangerous-building demolition ruling, the appeal will be taken to a judge in the Sixteenth Judicial Circuit rather than to the local board of adjustment or board of engineering appeals.
The city manager told the council the revision addresses repeated delays in demolition caused by difficulty establishing quorums for the local board and by timing conflicts with due-process deadlines in the code. “Once a hearing is held at the city with the city's hearing officer, if that property owner wishes to appeal the city's ruling, it will now go to a judge in the sixteenth judicial circuit,” the city manager said.
City staff said there are more than 200 properties on the dangerous-building list, though fewer than 10 appeals go to the old board in a typical year. The city manager said there are 21 criteria that can classify a building as dangerous; not all criteria must be met for a property to be deemed dangerous.
Councilmembers framed the change as preserving due process while enabling the city to move more quickly on demolitions where buildings pose safety risks. The ordinance passed on a 7-0 roll call vote; no amendments were recorded during the May 19 meeting.
