KSHB 41 reporter Isabella Ledonne reports on stories in Overland Park, Johnson County and topics about government accountability. Share your story idea with Isabella.
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Hundreds of buildings across Kansas City, Missouri, are vacant, boarded up and considered dangerous. It is an issue the city council aims to address with three new pieces of legislation.
Vacant, run down buildings is a sight all too common in Kansas City's south and east side corridors.
"I see things that are abandoned, neglected and not cared for," resident Venita Fain-Siffre said. "They're an eyesore to the neighborhood and the neighbors."
Fain-Siffre explained vacant buildings are more than just a nuisance in her neighborhood.
"I see drug deals going on in and out of the buildings," Fain-Siffre said. "You're scared, you're afraid. You're concerned about what's going to go on — 'Is the house going to be set on fire?'"
Kansas City Councilwoman Melissa Patterson Hazley explained there is an over representation of fires in the northeast because of vacant buildings. It is one of the reasons she is supporting three ordinances that aim to make neighborhoods safer.
"It is a big public safety hazard, but it's also a massive blight on the community," Councilwoman Patterson Hazley said. "We're going to send a message to property owners that we're not going to tolerate long-term vacancy."
The first ordinance sets a minimum standard for vacant buildings that are unoccupied for more than 90 days. All openings must be secured, and the site has to be maintained. If not, the city will complete the work and charge the property owner.
The second piece of legislation will require a review from the Historic Preservation Commission before demolition of a building is allowed to happen.
The final item would make property owners register empty structures with the city within 90 days of becoming vacant. Property owners could face a $200 fee for chronic nuisances with multiple violations.
"We want to make sure that public safety personnel, fire and police, have access to these buildings," Councilwoman Patterson Hazley said. "That's been a big barrier to deal with some of the dangerous conditions."
Councilwoman Patterson Hazley and Councilman Darrell Curls hosted a town hall Wednesday to present the ordinances to neighbors, property owners and community advocates.
Many emphasized the need for consistent enforcement and strict consequences for violators.
"Make (the consequences) painful, so they do something to their buildings," Ruskin Heights neighbor Beth Boerger said. "We just need to get the city to clean these things up and do something about it."
"Does Kansas City have the resources to properly enforce these ordinances?" KSHB 41 accountability reporter Isabella Ledonne asked Councilwoman Patterson Hazley.
"Enforcement is always a problem," Councilwoman Patterson Hazley said. "Sometimes enforcement isn't what we would like it to be. That's why we're trying to have some provisions where the property owner would make the building accessible to public safety — that would make enforcement go a lot faster."
The ordinances specifically target accountability with the property owners.
"It's not right for an out-of-town owner who doesn't live there, who doesn't have to see this stuff everyday, is not concerned or even somebody who doesn't live in the neighborhood, for them to just come in and make somebody else's life miserable," Fain-Siffre said.
The ordinances are expected to go before Kansas City Council in the coming weeks.
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