The Chronic Nuisance Property
Ordinance is a tool the City of Cape
Girardeau can use to correct nuisance
activity that is occurring on
residential and/or commercial
properties. The ordinance places the
responsibility for correcting the
nuisance activity on the property
owner and holds the owner
accountable for what happens on, or
in association with the owner’s
property.
- Illegal manufacturing, possession, delivery, distribution, or use, of
drugs or drug paraphernalia.
- Illegal possession, use or sale of
firearms or weapons.
- Prostitution or patronizing
prostitution.
- Consumption or possession of
alcoholic beverages in public
places in violation of Sec.-14 of
City ordinance.
- Offenses against the public order
in violation of Chapter 17, Article
VII of City ordinance ; which
include peace disturbance,
unlawful assembly, rioting,
refusal to disperse, loitering, and
violating curfew.
In 2016, the City took the initiative to enhance the coordination and communication among staff who regularly work with nuisance properties. The effort was organized by monthly meetings with designated representatives from Police staff, City Prosecutor’s Office, Nuisance, Planning and Inspections Divisions.
The focus of the meetings was to identify chronic nuisance activity within the City and target efforts toward holding property owners accountable. To best accomplish this goal, staff researched and recommended the passage of a Chronic Nuisance Property Ordinance which would provide an additional tool for City staff to compel property owners to achieve compliance and abate chronic nuisance activity. In November of 2016, the City Council passed the recommended ordinance. Empowered by this ordinance, Staff continues to meet on a monthly basis to review chronic nuisance properties and recommend methods for compliance.
Accomplishments from the efforts of the Chronic Nuisance Property Review Group include:
- Passage of a Chronic Nuisance Property Ordinance
- Establishment of a Crime Free Multi-Housing Program: This program seeks to partner with apartment owners, managers, landlords, residents, and police to reduce crime. The program also incentivizes landlords that implement the techniques and best practices in property management to minimize crime by certifying them as Crime Free Property Owners.
- Amended the Chronic Nuisance Property Ordinance to include the “illegal use or sale of firearms or weapons” as an offense which would require only one occurrence where the property could be designated a Chronic Nuisance Property and subsequent action could be taken.
- Abatement of chronic nuisance activity generated from a large multi-unit apartment complex located near the 100 block of West End Boulevard. Police calls for service here in 2017 alone totaled 369. After placing the property on the Chronic Nuisance Property watch list and meeting with property ownership and management, a number of measures were implemented to reduce crime in the area. Property ownership agreed to install 12 onsite HD security cameras, provide the Police Department with access to security footage, issue parking permits to tenants, and require all tenants to sign a crime free addendum to their lease. One month after the implementation of these measures, the number of police calls for service dropped to only two over a 30 day period.
- Hosted several neighborhood meetings regarding concerns of nuisance activity near the 200 block of North Lorimier. As a result of these meetings and a review of Police incident reports, a property located within the area was identified and declared a Chronic Nuisance Property. City staff met with the property owner to discuss necessary compliance measures. After receiving this designation, the property owner evicted a number of tenants generating the nuisance activity and amended future tenant lease agreements to require tenants to remain crime free.