An appeal was made recently to the Jefferson City Council about a vehicle deemed to be classified as a “junk” vehicle.

The appeal was made by the owner of an international school bus, Elle Parker, that is being converted into a motorhome at the property of 904 West Madison Street. City Administrator Mike Palmer says the owner was issued a violation by the Code Enforcement Officer Chad Stevens declaring the vehicle to be “junk” and must be removed.

The owner believed the vehicle is not junk because it runs and there are no broken windows. She said she purchased the bus from a government auction in Missouri in May of 2022. She has been working on the conversion since then with plans to be completed by this June and off of the property by August. However, the vehicle is not licensed. Stevens highlighted one of the factors he used from the ordinance was that the vehicle appeared to not have been operated in 30 days and it looked to have sat in the same spot for 30 days.  

Ultimately, the Council gave the owner until September 15th to have the conversion done, the vehicle off of the property and it must be licensed. City Administrator Mike Palmer feels all procedures went as smoothly as possible.

“The property owner has the right to appeal that decision to the Council. The Council can either vacate it, or they uphold Chad Stevens determination, or they can give them time to comply. The best is usually to give time to comply. It’s good due process.”    

Palmer appreciates the decorum and civil environment of how the appeal was handled. 

“I think the applicant did a very good job of coming forward and having her case in place. Chad Stevens was following what he needed to follow. And I think the Council did a good job on that too.” 

The Council asked for consistent updates on the project as it progressed to when it is completed and off of the property.