Shasta County, CA Property Maintenance: Property Blight (2026)

Section 8.28.010 of the Shasta County Code declares that every violation of any regulatory or prohibitory provision contained in Division 4 or 18 of the Food and Agricultural Code of the State of California, or of the county code, is a public nuisance. Because the declaration sweeps in every code violation, it is the county's main tool against blighted, substandard, and hazardous property conditions, including the substandard-building findings the building official makes under Section 16.10.060 for structures that endanger life, health, or safety. Once the enforcing officer identifies a violation, Section 8.28.030 requires a written notice served on the owner or occupant, mailed and posted at the site if personal service fails.

Except where the condition is an immediate threat to public health or safety, the owner gets at least five calendar days to abate voluntarily, and the notice must spell out the violation, the maximum time to fix it, the basis for any administrative fine, and the right to demand a hearing before the board of supervisors under Section 8.28.050. If the owner does not act, Section 8.28.060 lets the county abate the nuisance itself and recover the costs of inspection, notifications and service, agency staff time, actual work done, and attorney's fees by specially assessing the parcel under Government Code Section 25845, with ten days' mailed notice before the board considers the assessment.

The county can also record a notice of abatement lien against the property, which carries the force and priority of a judgment lien, and unpaid assessments accrue interest and are collected the same way as delinquent property taxes.