Spokane County, WA Code Violation Reporting: Common Violations (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing chapter
- SCC 6.13, Nuisances (adopted Dec. 16, 2025)
- Common citations
- Junk vehicles, illegal sewage, unpermitted construction
- Chronic nuisance
- 3 incidents/60 days or 4/12 months
- Civil infraction
- $250 per violation under SCC 6.13.090
- Enforcers
- Code Enforcement, Sheriff, Planning/Building/Public Works
Summary
Spokane County Code Chapter 6.13 defines a "nuisance" as any unlawful act or condition that endangers others' health, safety, or property, then lists the specific violations code enforcement cites most: illegal sewage disposal, poisonous materials accessible to people or animals, unpermitted or unsecured construction, and accumulated junk vehicles or vessel parts, under SCC 6.13.040.
1.A "nuisance" consists of performing an unlawful act, or omitting to perform a duty, or permitting an act or condition to occur or exist which:A.Unreasonably interferes with, annoys, injures, or endangers the comfort, repose, health, or safety of others...2.The following specific acts, omissions, places, conditions, or otherwise, are hereby declared to be nuisances...A.The discharge of sewage, human excrement, or other waste in any location or manner, except through approved means of sewage disposal...D.Any poisonous material or poisonous thing on any property accessible to any animal or person.I.Property where one or more abandoned or derelict vessels, junk vehicles, or vehicle or vessel parts are accumulated, dismantled, parked, placed or stored unless the abandoned or derelict vessels, junk vehicles, or parts thereof pose no threat to human health or safety or to the environment...J.Any building or structure where construction commenced and then ceased and the building or structure has not been secured closed to entry and presents a hazard to the public, or any building or structure that has been constructed or modified without required permits.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 63).
Full Breakdown
040 gives Spokane County code enforcement its working list of prohibited conditions. A nuisance is first defined broadly as any unlawful act, omitted duty, or condition that unreasonably interferes with the comfort, health, or safety of others, obstructs a public right-of-way, or renders neighboring property insecure. 130; and buildings that were started and abandoned unsecured, or built or modified without required permits. 040(2)(M). 040(3), letting code enforcement skip the usual voluntary-compliance notice and move straight to a civil infraction.
Violations & Fines
Enforcement authorities, Spokane County Code Enforcement Officers, the Sheriff's Office, and the Planning, Building, and Public Works directors, may issue a $250 class 1 civil infraction under SCC 6.13.090 once a notice of nuisance violation goes uncorrected for 14 days. A property found to be a chronic nuisance, three violations in 60 days or four in a year, can be cited immediately without that 14-day notice period.
Frequently Asked Questions
What counts as a nuisance in unincorporated Spokane County?
How many junk vehicles can I keep on my property?
What makes a property a chronic nuisance?
Do zoning and building violations count as nuisances too?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Spokane County
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