Lewis County, WA Property Maintenance: Property Blight (2026)

010 defines the chapter's reach: premises, structures, or vehicles unfit for human habitation or other uses because of dilapidation, disrepair, structural defects, fire hazards, inadequate ventilation, light, sanitation, or drainage are a public nuisance. 020(7) spells out what counts, including dangerous structures such as any dangerous, decaying, unkempt, falling or damaged dwelling, plus visible accumulations of trash, junk, discarded lumber, old appliances, scrap metal, and similar debris not kept in regular collection containers. The director, defined to include the heads of Community Development, Public Works, or Health and Social Services, decides what abatement a nuisance requires in the interest of the general health, safety and welfare of the community.

030, the county can enter the property with any lawful means to remove or correct the condition, and the prosecuting attorney's office can pursue judicial process. Where the nuisance is an immediate threat to public health, safety, welfare, or the environment, the county may act summarily and without prior notice, giving notice of the abatement, and for a tenant, the landlord, only after the fact. Abatement costs, including personnel time, attorney's fees, documentation, towing, and 10 percent annual interest, are billed to the responsible party and due within 15 calendar days; unpaid costs become a lien on the property, subordinate only to prior special assessment liens and superior to every lien except state and county taxes. 020(7)(c).