Decatur, AL Property Maintenance: Property Blight (2026)

Decatur's blight rule is § 16-14, Accumulation of rubbish constituting health hazard or weed nuisance, backed by §§ 16-12 and 16-13. Subsection (g) makes it unlawful for the owner or anyone in control of residential or commercial property to store or keep any inoperable vehicle, discarded household furnishings, scrap or junk on the premises unless housed in an approved, enclosed, covered structure, out of view from any street, alley, public right of way or other private premises, and in a way that prevents a health, safety or fire hazard. Licensed junk or salvage yards, scrap metal yards, scrap processors and automobile graveyards are exempt, as are vehicles awaiting repair at licensed repair businesses.

The section defines other nuisances as well. A weed nuisance includes any growth of weeds, other than ornamental plant growth, that exceeds twelve inches in height. Litter and garbage must be containerized under Chapter 19. Stagnant water in ponds, pools, buckets or tires counts as a nuisance, and a hazardous plant nuisance covers dead or decayed trees that could fall or shed limbs. Property in its natural condition, and land more than one hundred feet from any dwelling or commercial enterprise outside an improved subdivision, is exempt.

Enforcement runs through the community development director or a designated city employee, who under subsection (l) orders the owner to abate the condition. Section 16-12 declares the listed acts public nuisances and makes an owner guilty of a misdemeanor if the premises are not made lawful within the time set in a written notice from the city department. A third violation of the same type within two years allows a summons and complaint without prior notice. Under § 16-13 the city can do the work itself at the owner's expense, and the cost becomes a lien on the property.

For structures, § 7-291 adopts the International Property Maintenance Code, 2009 Edition, with the Community Development Department as the inspection department and a Community Preservation Board. Under § 7-33 the building director can shorten the appeal period for an unsafe or dangerous building. Ordinary appeals from the building director must be filed in writing within thirty calendar days under § 7-32.