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NewsSeptember 2, 1993

The Cape Girardeau City Council next week is expected to have its first glance at a pared version of a property maintenance law proposed in July. The law, the Building Officials and Code Administrators (BOCA) version of a national property maintenance code, was the recommendation of the city's Board of Appeals...

The Cape Girardeau City Council next week is expected to have its first glance at a pared version of a property maintenance law proposed in July.

The law, the Building Officials and Code Administrators (BOCA) version of a national property maintenance code, was the recommendation of the city's Board of Appeals.

But council members in July berated the code as too intrusive. Rather than consider passage of the code as amended by the board of appeals, council members agreed to go through the document, noting possible deletions and amendments.

That process was completed late last month, and Assistant City Manager Al Stoverink said all the council suggestions have been grafted onto the code that will be unveiled at the city council meeting Wednesday.

"We have taken all the amendments that the board of appeals recommended and the amendments recommended by individual council members," Stoverink said. "We're generating a draft now that will show the original ordinance, and also show the recommended changes and amendments."

The BOCA code was presented to the council in July after more than a year of deliberation among citizen groups.

Some city staff members have said the code is needed to ensure Cape Girardeau has safe and sanitary buildings.

But some of the council members reacted strongly to the idea of expanding city government in the area of building regulations.

In the past, the council contended that the private sector, through market forces, would resolve the problems of inadequate and shoddy housing on its own.

But as the debate over housing assistance resurfaced this year, a recurring theme was that the private sector has failed to meet the housing needs of the city's low-income residents.

Stoverink said he expects the council to study the revised proposal before placing it on the agenda for action, possibly at the Sept. 20 meeting.

The assistant city manager said that since the proposed changes have been made, the document has been retitled the Cape Girardeau Property Maintenance Code. He said council members had red-lined so much of code that it scarcely resembles the original.

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"Even though it's based on the BOCA code, it's being changed for application in the city," he said. "We've incorporated changes in the language that represent the greatest change from the BOCA code.

"They can discuss whether they want to go that far or not," Stoverink added. "We're going to give them copies of all of the council members' suggested changes so that they can understand what each other wants done."

The city staff also has yet to see the latest proposal, and Stoverink said he plans to make it available to staff members prior to next week's meeting.

"As soon as we get this highlighted, and present the marked-up draft, we'll distribute that to the staff as well so that we'll be prepared to make recommendations or respond to questions," he said.

Proponents of the property maintenance code have said the city government should regulate those landlords who buy dilapidated, inexpensive properties with the intention of renting them to low-income tenants.

Without such action, proponents contend, not only will there continue to be a shortage of low-income housing in Cape Girardeau, but the city also will see its housing stock deteriorate.

The city now has no law that would enable inspectors to respond to tenants' and adjoining property owners' complaints about substandard buildings.

But many landlords in the city have objected that the code does nothing to protect property owners from tenants who damage their buildings and refuse to pay rent and utility bills.

Stoverink said he believes the latest, pared down version of the proposal is a "workable" compromise.

"I think the proposed changes submitted by the council clearly represent the council's response to concerns expressed by individuals in the community," he said. "It's obvious the council's trying to establish the code and make changes that would adequately respond to those concerns."

But he also said that, if adopted, the proposed code probably would not address all the concerns put forth by those who favor more stringent regulations for property owners.

"I think, certainly, it's something that would be workable," Stoverink said. "It will significantly limit the scope of (the original code), but would still, I think, address at least some of the key problem areas that have been brought forward.

"It's now just a matter of reconciling among the council members the changes they've recommended. I think it's very likely that a productive piece of legislation a good compromise may not be that far away."

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