Property inspections are now underway in the city of St. Joseph.
City code enforcement officer Joan Ross tells us they’ll be inspecting nearly 540 properties, mostly around the downtown area, to look for issues like blight, peeling paint, missing handrails, and missing address numbers.
Property owners will be notified in May if a deficiency has been noted, and they’ll have through September 20 to address them. There’s also an appeals process, and Ross says the city works with people who run into trouble fixing certain problems.
If a property is found to have no issues, the owner won’t receive any message and need not be concerned.
The property maintenance program has been in place since around 2000, and Ross says most residents appreciate it, especially neighbors of properties where an issue is discovered.
The inspectors will be out through April. More details on the program are on the city’s website.
