Grand Junction, CO Property Maintenance: Property Blight (2026)

GJMC § 8.04.020 makes it unlawful for any owner or lessee in the City of Grand Junction to pile, store, or allow junk or rubbish to accumulate on a lot, and separately requires cutting weeds and brush over six inches tall to within three inches of the ground, including on the strip between the property line and the street or alley. Undeveloped land over one acre gets a narrower duty limited to buffer zones near rights-of-way and adjoining parcels. City inspectors may enter a property during business hours to check for violations if the owner requests it, a neighbor reports it, or a City agent observes a likely violation from a public right-of-way, and the City can seek a Municipal Court inspection warrant if access is denied.

When an owner fails to cut and remove weeds, brush, junk, or rubbish after notice, GJMC § 8.04.050 lets the City Manager order a management plan or, after seven days without a hearing request, send City crews or a contractor to do the work. GJMC § 8.04.060 then assesses the City's actual labor, equipment, and material costs against the owner plus an administrative penalty of $50 for a first cutting, $100 for a second, and $150 for a third or later cutting within five years, all with a 25 percent surcharge for supervision and inspection.

Unpaid assessments become a lien on the property under GJMC § 8.04.080, collected with a further 25 percent surcharge through the County tax rolls, and GJMC § 8.04.090 allows criminal fines on top of any assessment already levied.