In unincorporated Clackamas County there is no general property-blight ordinance. Code Enforcement acts only on specific problems: accumulated garbage (Ch. 10.03), dangerous buildings (Ch. 9.01), and inoperable vehicles. Overgrown, unkempt, or unsightly yards are not violations. Inside cities like Oregon City or Lake Oswego, the city governs blight.
Clackamas County has no blanket 'blight' or 'property maintenance' code for unincorporated land. The county tells residents plainly that yards outside city limits are not required to be cut or cleaned up. Code Enforcement is authorized to act only on narrowly defined issues: solid-waste accumulation under Title 10, Chapter 10.03; dangerous or derelict structures under Title 9, Chapter 9.01; and unlicensed or inoperable vehicles. Aesthetic complaints (peeling paint, general disrepair, clutter, tall vegetation) generally have no county authority. Residents in incorporated cities should contact their city code office, which typically has broader nuisance and maintenance standards.
No blight fine exists countywide. Enforceable adjacent issues—garbage accumulation or dangerous buildings—carry their own civil penalties and abatement (up to $3,500 for solid-waste dumping).
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
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Backyard composting of yard debris and food scraps is allowed and encouraged in Clackamas County; no permit is needed for a home compost pile. Commercial-sca...
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Clackamas County has no ordinance banning or specifically regulating artificial turf in residential yards. Standard land-use rules on lot coverage, drainage,...
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Clackamas County does not mandate native-plant landscaping for private yards, but strongly encourages it and requires native-vegetation retention in protecte...
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Rooftop rainwater harvesting is legal in Oregon and does not need a water right. Clackamas County adds no ban. Collecting rain from an artificial impervious ...
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Clackamas County government sets no countywide outdoor-watering ban. Watering rules come from your local water provider (such as Clackamas River Water or Sun...
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Oregon law (ORS 569) declares noxious weeds a public nuisance to be controlled on all lands. Clackamas County runs the WeedWise program (since 2009) through ...
See how Clackamas County's property blight rules stack up against other locations.
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