NOT ALL PLEASED WITH MAINTENANCE CODE

Although Cape Girardeau officials have joined with a local citizens group to draft a minimum property maintenance code, not everyone thinks the measure is a good idea.

The city's Board of Appeals will conduct a public meeting at 7 p.m. Thursday at City Hall to discuss proposed property maintenance standards.

The public is invited to the meeting, and opponents of the measure the 1990 Building Officials and Code Administrators (BOCA) property maintenance code are expected to attend.

Rick Murray, the supervisor of inspection services in Cape Girardeau, said he welcomes any input opponents as well as proponents might have.

"The staff has done their review, and the citizens group has done their review the proponents of this," Murray said. "The oppoenents haven't had a chance to look at it yet. We expect some of those people there Friday."

Frank Bean, a local developer and former city councilman, said he and other members of the Southeast Missouri Apartment Owners Association are opposed to adoption of the code.

"I'm not in favor of it," Bean said. "From our standpoint, you're just going to increase the cost of rental for everybody and increase the cost of government.

"And who's going to pay for all this? You're going to see an inspection fee sooner or later, and it just creates a mountain of problems and paperwork, and yet the need for it is very minimal."

Murray conceded Bean's view is shared by some developers and property owners. But he said the impetus for adoption of the code has come from citizens concerned about the shoddy condition of some rental units in the city.

"This has all come about due to privately-owned properties that have deteriorated in neighborhoods and people wanted something done, but there was no mechanism to achieve that," Murray said. "We need to have something on the books that enables us to address those types of problems."

Murray said opponents of the property maintenance code have said the need for such a measure is lacking, and that the code likely would eliminate some low-income housing units.

The argument is that the restrictive code would force the condemnation or abandonment of some low-rent properties that couldn't feasibly be brought up to code.

Murray dismissed that scenario.

"One thing I try to make very clear is that this is not directed at rental properties," he said. "It's directed at every property commercial, residential, rental, all of it.

"It's not directed at rental property, but certainly it's going to be used to try to update certain properties where we've received a complaint that turns out to be warranted.

"If there are perceptions that everyone will have to start remodeling their homes to get it up to code, I think that's misguided."

Murray said "90 percent" of property owners already adequately maintain their property and wouldn't have to worry about the measure's restrictions.

He said other cities such as Columbia and Paducah, Ky. have adopted similar laws that also met with initial objections. But the standards, once implemented, have worked in those cities, he said.

"Columbia is a large college town, and if there's a town that minimum housing standards might adversely affect, it's there," Murray added. "If in actuality this closes down units, they would see that. But their contention is that rental units have expanded."

Because the standards also include provisions for tenant responsibilities, Murray said maintenance for landlords is easier once the code is adopted and enforced.

But Bean said he and others fear the long-term effects of adopting the code. He questioned why a code needs to be adopted for the entire city to address a problem in only a small percentage of properties.

"You can take maybe two or three cases and blow them out of proportion, but it's not the norm," Bean added. "It's not a widespread problem, and they're going to cause havoc all over town."

Bean said the BOCA code for minimum property maintenance contains provisions that are akin to using a "sledgehammer to kill a fly.

"When you dissect that code, there are a lot of crazy things in there," he said. "I think the BOCA people make changes every year to address something that's a million-to-one chance of happening.

"I don't think BOCA is a viable alternative anymore. Every year they come out with updates, and it just gets narrower and narrower, and at a point it becomes unreasonable."

Murray said he hopes Thursday's meeting will enable the city to compile remarks and views on the code from proponents, opponents and the members of the Board of Appeals.

He said it's likely there will be other public meetings to "iron out" differences before the maintenance code is sent to the city council.

"I envision there will be some changes," Murray added. "At this point, all of the changes have been very minor.

"But this is a minimum standard well below any standard that a new code will require, so I don't see any major change even from people that might oppose this."