Butte County, CA Property Maintenance: Property Blight (2026)
Key Facts
- Voluntary correction window
- 72 hours before hearing is set
- Hearing notice period
- 10 days (30 if H&SC §17980 applies)
- Appeal to Board
- $50 fee within 12 days
- Abatement deadline post-hearing
- Up to 30 days
- Ag operation exemption
- 3+ continuous lawful years
- Unpaid costs
- Recorded as a property lien
Summary
Chapter 32A lets Butte County's Director of Development Services declare a property a public nuisance if it's injurious to health or safety, or indecent and offensive enough to interfere with neighbors' enjoyment of their property. Owners get 72 hours to voluntarily fix the condition before the county can set a hearing, and unpaid abatement costs can become a lien on the property.
(a)Public Nuisance. A public nuisance shall be deemed to exist when any of the following conditions or circumstances are present:(1)Anything which is injurious to health, poses a significant potential to cause economic and/or physical injury or damage to persons or property, or constitutes a significant detriment to the prevention or suppression of fire, or significantly interferes with the provision of emergency services to the public.(2)Anything which is indecent or offensive to the senses, or an obstruction to the free use of property so as to unreasonably interfere with the comfortable enjoyment of life or property, or unlawfully obstructs the free passage or use in the customary manner of any navigable lake, river, bay, stream, canal, or basin or of any public park, square, street or highway and at the same time affects an entire community or neighborhood, or any considerable number of persons, although the extent of the annoyance or damage inflicted upon individuals and/or property may be unequal.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 61).
Full Breakdown
Section 32A-2 defines a public nuisance in unincorporated Butte County two ways: anything injurious to health, a significant risk of physical or economic injury, a fire-suppression detriment, or interference with emergency services; or anything indecent or offensive to the senses that obstructs the free use of property, unreasonably interferes with comfortable enjoyment of life or property, or blocks public passage on a street, park or waterway in a way that affects a whole neighborhood. The Director of Development Services enforces the chapter under Section 32A-3 and, under Section 32A-5, must first request in writing that the nuisance be abated within seventy-two hours; only if the condition persists past that window can the Director set the matter for an administrative hearing before a Hearing Officer drawn from the county's Administrative Hearing Officer Program.
The owner and any known occupant get posted and mailed notice at least ten days before the hearing (or thirty days if Health and Safety Code section 17980 requires it), and the notice must identify the code sections allegedly violated. Two carve-outs limit the reach of the chapter: lawful agricultural operations that have run continuously for more than three years generally cannot be deemed a nuisance due to changed surroundings, and lawfully stored personal property covering no more than one hundred square feet of a parcel is excluded outright.
Violations & Fines
If the Hearing Officer finds a nuisance exists, the owner must abate it within a reasonable time set by the decision, not to exceed thirty days, and becomes liable for the county's Abatement Costs and Administrative Costs, including attorneys' fees, investigation time and hearing expenses. An aggrieved owner or occupant can appeal to the Board of Supervisors within twelve days of the decision becoming final by filing a written appeal and paying a fifty-dollar appeal fee. If the nuisance still isn't abated, the county may abate it directly under a court warrant and bill the owner; unpaid costs may be recorded as a lien with the same force as a judgment lien and specially assessed against the property like a county tax.
Frequently Asked Questions
What counts as a public nuisance under Butte County's property code?
How much time do I get to fix a cited property condition?
Can I appeal if the Hearing Officer rules against me?
Are farms exempt from the nuisance rules?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Butte County
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