Section 7.6 Nuisances

• Library: Local Government Deskbook (2017 Ed.)

D. (§7.6) Nuisances

State statutes authorizing local regulation address the suppression of nuisance conditions. See, e.g., §§ 71.780, 77.530, and 79.380, RSMo 2016. Local enactments that prohibit or limit certain activities and uses of property are often premised on a declaration that the offending activity or use is a nuisance. These enactments are used to clean up or regulate abandoned cars, trash, noise, rubbish, and other conditions that threaten the health and safety of the public.

See City of Kansas City v. New York-Kansas Building Associates, L.P., 96 S.W.3d 846, 857 (Mo. App. W.D. 2002), for a useful discussion of what constitutes a public nuisance. The court held that a...