City of Joplin defines demolition to include removal of foundations

(From the City of Joplin)

Now that the demolition of tornado-damaged structures is well underway, City officials want to be sure residential property owners understand one important detail: Demolition may still apply to you!

“It’s easy to think that demolition only means tearing down wrecked houses,” said Joplin City Manager Mark Rohr. “But if you have any concrete on your property such as slabs, basements, footings, crawl spaces or driveways that aren’t going to be reused; we need you to get that removed now as well. There are more than a thousand lots still out there that have some type of foundation or concrete left behind and we’ve got to get these lots cleared, if applicable, so that rebuilding in these areas can move forward.”

The good news – especially for those who do not yet have a clean lot – is that there is free help to get even heavy, bulky concrete removed, Rohr added. Residents can enlist the help of a Voluntary Organization Demolition Team (VODT) to remove structures and/or concrete at no cost to the property owner. Residents will be required to sign a Right-of-Entry (ROE) form to allow the voluntary agency access to their property. Any ROE that has been previously signed – like for debris removal – is not valid for this phase.

To take advantage of the help from a VODT, residents can call the Volunteer Reception Center at 417-625-3558 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. These teams are led by skilled volunteers from organizations that specialize in helping disaster survivors.

The VODT is just one of three demolition options the city unveiled a few weeks ago. The other options include: (1) Do-It-Yourself, which includes using insurance or other funds to hire a professional, certified contractor; (2) Be subject to City action that declares the property a dangerous structure. In this last option, the City will have the structure demolished, then charge the property owner for the actual cost of demolition and removal by assessing a tax lien on the property. The City prefers utilizing the VODT or doing-it-yourself, rather than removal by the City.

All demolitions – no matter how they are done or by whom – still require a demolition permit from the City of Joplin. The permits are free until Dec. 31, 2011 and are available from the Joplin Building Division on the 4th floor of Joplin City Hall, 602 S. Main Street. If the VODT does the demolition, that organization will secure the demo permit on behalf of the property owner.

Those individuals who are doing the demolition themselves can push the resulting debris to the public right-of-way for the city to pick up. However, any private contractor doing a demolition must haul the debris to a proper landfill.

The City will soon have to establish a deadline date for the demolition and removal of foundations to occur or to notify the City of a demolition agreement or a plan to rebuild on the existing foundation. This is an essential step in rebuilding the City.