The Kirksville City Council approved a series of restrictions over the usage of sea containers - large metal boxes used as accessory buildings for storage – on April 20. Kirksville residential property owners will not be able to permanently use these containers for storage anymore.
Brad Selby, Codes and Planning Director, said the reason for these restrictions has to do with the appearance of sea containers.
“They are an eye-sore in residential areas. They’ve got advertising on the sides on most of the times. They are just not a good looking thing to be in a residential or commercial area,” Selby said.
Chris Taylor, the owner of Global Storage Solutions, said he believes there is a tax issue behind the restrictions.
“I would imagine the reason that they are concerning themselves with sea containers is that the state of Missouri says there is no property tax on portable storage,” Taylor said.
The restrictions prevent residential property owners from using sea containers for more than thirty days. They can only be used with a temporary permit.
Commercially-zoned properties will be allowed to use sea containers as a permanent structure behind or on the side of the main building. If the container is located on the side of the building, commercial property owners will have to place a private fence around it.
Both residential and commercial property owners will have one year to bring their properties into compliance.