Highland, CA Code Violation Reporting: Common Violations (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- Highland Municipal Code § 8.32.020(B), (C), (E)
- Front-yard storage limit
- Visible from the street for more than 48 hours
- Visible graffiti
- Nuisance after 10 days or more
- Minimum abatement period
- Not less than 10 days
- Default citation fines
- $100.00, $200.00, then $500.00 within one year
- Continuing violation
- Each day is a separate and distinct violation
Summary
In the City of Highland, California, the property maintenance chapter names specific yard and property conditions that count as public nuisances: clothes hanging in front yards, trash bins visible from the street, inoperable vehicles on private property, and any violation of the Highland Municipal Code. Section 8.32.020 declares each one a nuisance subject to notice and abatement.
B. A public nuisance is created by any condition or use of a building, structure or property which is detrimental to the property of others. This includes, but is not limited to: ... ... 2. Clothes lines, or clothes hanging in front yards, front porches, balconies, or fences which are visible from a public street; 3. Trash, garbage or refuse bins, boxes, or other such containers stored in front or side yards and are visible from a public street and/or neighboring property(ies); ... ... C. A public nuisance is created by any building, structure, or property that is in violation of any provision of the Highland Municipal Code, including the Highland Development Code, or the statutes of the state of California. ... ... E. A public nuisance is created by the accumulation and storage of dismantled, wrecked, inoperable, junked, abandoned vehicles or parts thereof on private property.
Full Breakdown
Section 8.32.020(B) of the Highland Municipal Code makes a public nuisance of any condition or use of a building, structure or property that is detrimental to the property of others, and lists examples. Among them are clothes lines, or clothes hanging in front yards, front porches, balconies or fences visible from a public street; trash, garbage or refuse bins, boxes or containers stored in front or side yards and visible from a public street or neighboring property; violation of any condition of a site approval or conditional use permit; overgrown vegetation likely to harbor rodents or vermin or that blocks drivers' view; noxious smells and the dumping of construction or landscape material; and attractive nuisances dangerous to children, such as abandoned, broken or neglected equipment, machinery or appliances.
Other subsections widen the net. Subsection (C) makes any building, structure or property in violation of any provision of the Highland Municipal Code, including the Highland Development Code, or California statutes a nuisance. Subsection (E) covers dismantled, wrecked, inoperable, junked or abandoned vehicles or parts on private property. Subsection (F) covers stored abandoned, discarded or unused objects such as lumber, metal, scrap wood, junk, trash or debris in the front yard or side-yard setbacks of residential properties when visible from the street for more than 48 hours. Subsection (A)(8) covers graffiti visible from a public street for 10 days or more without a sign permit, and subsection (H) treats parking a vehicle on an unpaved parcel as a nuisance.
Enforcement runs two ways. Section 2.56.030 designates police officers, the community development director, the building official, building inspectors and code compliance officers, among others, as enforcement officers with power to issue administrative citations. For a continuing building, zoning or similar structural violation that does not create an immediate danger, Section 2.56.050 lets the officer give notice first and requires correction within at least 15 days from service before a citation issues. The nuisance chapter separately requires an abatement period of not less than 10 days under Section 8.32.030.
Violations & Fines
Section 2.56.110 sets the default administrative fine at $100.00 for a first violation, $200.00 for a second violation of the same ordinance within one year, and $500.00 for each additional violation within one year, unless another section sets a specific fine. Under Section 2.56.100(B), each day a continuing violation exists is a separate and distinct violation. Fines are payable within 25 days of service, and an unpaid fine draws a penalty of double the citation amount.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I hang laundry on my front porch in the City of Highland?
Are trash bins in my side yard a violation?
How long can I store junk in my front yard?
Is an inoperable car on my property a violation?
Who can write a citation for these violations?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Highland
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