Court determines City of Sedalia has authority to OK demolition of Main Street building
Ryan Shiner
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
The battle over a derelict building in Sedalia took its next step on Thursday.
The City of Sedalia has sought the demolition of a building it says is in a “state of collapse.” The city filed a lawsuit last week seeking a court to approve the demolition of the building at 207 West Main St.
The court denied the petition, but Circuit Judge Jeff Mittelhauser wrote in his ruling that the petition was denied because the court does not have the authority to make the initial decision to demolish the building. Mittelhauser wrote that a court could make a decision if a building is ordered to be demolished and the owner seeks to appeal.
The decision says ordinances within the city allow for the chief building official to determine if a building should be destroyed.
“It is the building inspector who has the authority to decide that emergency abatement is required. Section 67.440, RSMo, allows a city’s ordinances to provide that the appropriate building official may decide that emergency demolition is required. Sedalia Municipal Code Article XI, sec 10-457, repeats that it is the building official who has authority to order emergency demolition,” the judge’s decision says.
Chief Building Official Bryan Kopp had determined the building at 207 West Main St. needed to be demolished to “protect the public,” court documents say. The building is owned by Dana Melton and Travis Dixon.
The city had closed the sidewalk and street nearby the building recently to avoid residents from getting near the building. Court documents say the city worries about the state of the building and its effects on nearby buildings if it collapses.