Lakewood, CA Property Maintenance: Property Blight (2026)

Section 4323, most recently amended by Ordinance 2025-1, tells any owner, lessee, occupant or person in charge of Lakewood property that a defined list of conditions on that property are public nuisances per se, meaning the city treats the condition as a nuisance subject to abatement and misdemeanor prosecution without separately proving it harms anyone.

Subsection A alone reaches abandoned, partially destroyed, unfinished, boarded or substandard buildings using specific triggers: a structure is 'abandoned' once it sits unoccupied for a year with property taxes delinquent for more than a year; 'partially destroyed' once a visible roof or wall failure has stood for 30 days; unfinished past the time allowed by a building permit or its extension; or 'boarded-up' once boards, plywood or cardboard have covered a window, door or roof hole for 120 days. The list continues through unsightly or deteriorated exterior surfaces, front-yard trash and debris accumulation, dead or overgrown vegetation in required yards, deteriorated fences and driveways, missing or damaged garage doors, refuse containers stored where visible from the street, broken windows, deteriorated signs, graffiti, vehicles or boats parked in required yards outside the zoning code's allowance, machinery visible from the right-of-way without an active building permit, and dangerous or algae-clouded swimming pools.

Abatement runs through Sections 4324 to 4324.7: after a 30-day notice period, the Planning and Environment Commission holds a hearing with five days' posted and mailed notice, can order the work done with a set completion deadline, and its order is appealable to the City Council within five days. If the owner still doesn't comply, the Director of Public Works can do the work and bill the owner, with unpaid costs becoming a lien against the property carrying 6% annual interest, collected the same way as delinquent property taxes.