Josephine County, OR Code Violation Reporting: How to Report (2026)

Josephine County Code § 8.10.090 sets the front door for nuisance and solid-waste code enforcement in the unincorporated county. Subsection A requires a written, signed complaint from three or more nonrelated adult residents of separate households living within a one-half mile radius of the alleged violation before the County investigates. Once that complaint clears an initial reasonable-grounds review, the process moves in fixed steps: alleged violators get a certified abatement letter from a County official giving them no more than 10 days to stop the violation (subsection A.1), the Health Department may grant a hardship extension if the owner is acting in good faith (A.2), and if the violation is not resolved by the deadline the County can move to the legal remedies at § 8.10.110 (hearing) or § 8.10.120 (Circuit Court complaint).

There is a bypass: under subsection B, if the condition is an urgent health hazard or public danger under § 8.10.070 or § 8.10.080, the County can skip the three-resident complaint threshold entirely, commence legal proceedings on its own initiative, or summarily abate the nuisance if it poses a major threat to public health or safety. The Person Responsible for a violation, defined in § 8.10.100 as the owner, contract buyer, tenant or anyone else in possession of the property, bears the notice and liability once a complaint is validated.