Everett, MA Code Violation Reporting: Response Times (2026)

Section 13A-7 of the Everett Revised Ordinances, Guidelines for Departmental Responses to Complaints, sits in Chapter 13A, Code Compliance, and applies to departments of the City of Everett, Middlesex County, Massachusetts. The guidelines apply subject to departmental resource limitations, and the timelines can be modified by departmental rule, subject to council review and approval.

High risk investigations need an urgent response within twenty-four hours to one week. They include cases with an imminent likelihood of or actual bodily harm, damage to public resources, facilities or property, public health exposure, or environmental damage or contamination, and cases where the site or responsible person has a history of prior high or moderate risk violations.

Moderate risk investigations need a prompt response within seventy-two hours to ten days. They cover a risk of bodily harm, property damage or environmental contamination, a history of prior low risk violations, ongoing moderate or low risk violations, and any case where more than five wrecked, dismantled or inoperative vehicles are found.

Low risk investigations are handled as time permits, within two to four weeks of the violation being identified by code compliance staff. They are non-emergent, have only minor public impacts, and involve an isolated incident.

Subsection (d) says the response times are not jurisdictional, and failure to meet them in any particular case does not affect the City's authority to enforce city code provisions in that case. Follow-up guidelines in Section 13A-9 add that verbal warnings are logged and followed by a written warning within two weeks with re-inspection within thirty days, and that citations should issue within thirty days of a complaint and notice and orders to correct within 7 days.