Doniphan Council Again Hears Loose Dog, Property Neglect Complaints

By DEBRA TUNE

P-N News Editor

For the second month, dogs at large and the issue of whether property neglect is punishable as a public nuisance offense were again brought before the Doniphan City Council.

During the March 4 meeting, Karen Hall told the council that these are problems which, in her opinion have been “continuing to get worse,” over the 10 years since she moved back to Doniphan.

Hall had questions about code enforcement of property ordinances, asking how the process works.

“A lot of the properties are derelict. I don’t know if they are rental properties or owner occupied, but we can’t seem to get these places cleaned up. These are code violations,” said Hall.

By “derelict,” Hall pointed to two of the “worst” of the properties, a rock house behind Casey’s General Store, and another house on Washington Street. Both structures in poor condition and are unsightly, with debris all over the yard.

“These places de-value the properties owned by those of us who live around them,” said Hall.

Attorney Chris Miller told Hall that code enforcement involves a two-stage process.

“First of all the offender has to be identified either by a complaint or by the code enforcement or a police officer noticing the issue.

“With some violations a ticket can be issued immediately, but some can be cited only after the offender is given a 10-day notice (a declaration of nuisance and remedial order) to fix the problem and after failure to do so,” said Miller.

Some of the derelict houses are vacant, and even then the ordinances don’t allow for a quick fix.

Miller said the city can post a notice on an abandoned house that is empty for more than six months and is not up to code. After two years the city can apply a lien against the vacant property for an additional real estate tax.

Some code violations require multiple hearings and due process procedures relating to ownership of the property and the violation, said Miller.

Hall asked, “Can we change the ordinances to make this a shorter process?”

The short answer is, not necessarily. Rights on “both sides of the fence,” so to speak, have to be considered.

Code violations such as overgrown weeds and illegal burning can be cited by an officer. However, some violations require an investigation.

Once an investigation is completed, the report and evidence are sent to Miller for review and when he can, he files the case on the city’s behalf.

“But, there are all sorts of variations of violations,” cautioned Miller.

Hall asked why the property owners, rather than tenants, are not held more accountable for the derelict conditions of their rentals. She said if better standards were enforced, landlords would maintain the properties better.

Miller said, “You’re talking about things that require actions. People can’t be targeted just because they have a deed showing they are the owner of record. You have to actually prove they did something or failed to do something.”

Cox said he didn’t disagree with Hall.

He wanted to know, “Couldn’t we change the ordinances to hold the property owners more responsible? That way we could maybe get better control over who they rent their properties to.”

Miller said those minor offenses such as uncut grass or littering can be cited and the owner can be served along with the tenant, if he or she can be proven to be aware of the issue, “but that’s just not easy to do.”

As to Hall’s assertion that the situation of derelict properties is rising to the level of being a “ghetto” in some places, Miller said, “We have no codes, nor can we affect codes because of aesthetics. A [legally identified] nuisance not something that is just unsightly, but which affects public health. Just because something is ugly and not maintained the way we might like it to be, doesn’t make it a nuisance.”

Hall argued that aesthetics constitute a breach of the real estate “bundling of rights” laws.

Indeed, a homeowner can rightly sue the owner of a neighboring property if the neglect of that property causes the seller’s home to be devalued.

As to the dog issue, Hall said she and a family member had been chased into their homes by vicious dogs, “numerous times,” as recently as two days prior.

“I know we don’t have a dog pound, but what do I do when dogs continue to come into my yard and run me onto m

The dog to which Hall referred is a large brown and white beast which she said she believes is a bull mastiff. “This dog is huge and dangerous,” said Hall.

Mayor Cox commented, “I agree that the city needs to do more as far as code violators. Let us work on this a little bit and see what we can come up with.”

City council meetings are held at 6 p.m., each first Tuesday of the month.