The current Property Maintenance regulations of Chapter 4 were approved in 1995. Over the years, there have been eight (8) amendments, which each addressed a singular issue.
For this amendment, staff comprehensively reviewed this Chapter, compared the regulations to peer municipalities, and compared the regulations to State Statutes. Several communities in the state and in the Kansas City metro utilize the International Property Maintenance Code (IPMC).
The International Property Maintenance Code (IPMC) establishes minimum requirements for the maintenance of existing structures and properties through model code regulations that contain clear and specific property maintenance and property improvement provisions. IPMC is fully compatible with all of the International Codes (I Codes) published through the International Code Council (ICC). The City has been utilizing the other ICC I Codes for over 15 years and adopting the IPMC should result in fewer conflicting provision.
This ordinance adoption would:
Reorganize the Chapter. The current property maintenance code has 32 different sections, and, in some instances, there were duplicate regulations and sometimes contradicting regulations in different sections and between other codes. The IPMC consolidates the numerous sections into 3 sections covering the same regulation thus creates a more efficient and user-friendly document and it eliminates the contradicting requirements.
Update regulations to match State Statutes. Over the years, the State legislature passed bills making changes related to property maintenance regulations. These areas were changed to match the language contained in State Statute and added reference to the specific State Statute section.
Consolidate regulations. In certain instances, there are code requirements in several different Chapters of the City Code. For example, the regulations pertaining to swimming pool is found in four (4) different Chapters of the City Code. Those have been consolidated into the IPMC to assist the user in finding the information.
Clarified the removal of vehicles in violation. The City has regulations concerning the parking/storing of commercial vehicles, trailers, RVs, and other equipment on private property. The current regulations do not allow for the removal of these items. This amendment clarifies that definition giving the City the ability to remove commercial vehicles, trailers, RVs, and other equipment in violation of IPMC and the UDO.
Clarified the removal fences in violation. The City has regulations on the material, location and maintenance of fences. However, the current regulations do not address whether those fences that remain in violation of City regulations can be removed. This amendment clarifies that those fences in violation of the City’s regulations can be removed.