Significant Changes on the Horizon for Starkville’s Code Enforcement
In a bid to improve the efficacy of its code enforcement, the city of Starkville has recently implemented a significant change. This comes after the Starkville Board of Aldermen unanimously approved a section in state code on August 6th, boosting the speed at which certain neglected properties in the city can be cleaned up. This section, the second part of Mississippi Code 21-19-11, enacted after the 2022 legislative session, provides the city with the authority to deal with properties that are a blight or violation within a week of their identification.
What Does the Code Allow?
Delving deeper into the specifics of the code, it authorizes certain city officials, which in this case would be the mayor, the building official and the code enforcement sergeant, to determine when a property constitutes a threat to public health, safety, and welfare. For instance, a vacant property covered with debris, glass and overgrown grass could potentially be deemed a public menace due to the chance of someone getting injured on the premises.
However, the code comes with several qualifications. The property in question should not exceed one acre and the cleaning cost must be no more than $250, not including administrative costs. Starkville’s Mayor Lynn Spruill highlighted that they had sought a contractor to assist with the pertinent jobs, but unfortunately there have been no potential candidates so far. Consequently, until a suitable contractor is found, the city’s sanitation department which currently handles mowing, will take over the tasks.
How Does It Change the Current Hearing Process?
According to Mayor Spruill, the motivation behind adopting the code is the expedited process it offers for cleaning up certain properties. She elucidated that usually when a neglected property is identified by the code enforcement officer, the city provides a two weeks’ notice to the property owner that a public hearing will be held to determine if the property could be declared a public menace. If confirmed, the city then should wait for an additional 10 days to allow the owner a last chance to address the matter.
However, with the amendment to Section 2 of Mississippi Code § 21-19-11, the process is streamlined. Upon identification of a neglected property of less than an acre, the city will issue a seven-day notice to the owner about a public hearing. If the owner fails to attend the hearing, which is often the case, the city is cleared to take immediate action and get the property cleaned up. Properties exceeding one acre or requiring cleaning costs above $250 will still fall under the conventional two-week notice and 10-day waiting period.
Once the cleanup process is done, property owners may face a fine of $100 or the total cost of cleaning the property, whichever is higher, as per state code. For mowing, for example, the owners would have to bear a charge of $300 per mow. In case the owner doesn’t comply, the city reserves the right to levy a tax lien on the property or take the owner to municipal court.
The Origin of the Expedient Process
Mayor Spruill emphasized that Starkville has not previously utilized this section of the code. The specific section stipulates that the property must be within a municipality with a population exceeding 1,500. In the past, the code catered specifically to those cities with a population above 25,000, excluding the city of Starkville. Following a revision during the 2022 legislative session, the code now includes smaller municipalities like Starkville. The city of Columbus, which has leveraged the section since the year of the amendment, has attested to its merits.
