Livermore, CA Property Maintenance: Property Blight (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- LMC § 8.14.040(A)-(N)
- Determination made by
- City building official
- Rehab path
- Chapter 8.15 standard abatement
- Demolition-only path
- Chapter 15.20 Dangerous Buildings
- Building-code appeals go to
- Building Appeals Board (Ch. 15.90)
- Unpaid costs become
- lien or special assessment
Summary
A building the City's building official finds unsafe, substandard, or dangerous under LMC § 8.14.040, whether from structural hazard, faulty wiring, fire hazard, or being left vacant and unsecured, is a public nuisance per se. The City can order the owner to repair or demolish it and, if it isn't fixed, abate the building itself and place a lien on the property for the cost.
In addition to other provisions in this code that constitute a public nuisance, it is hereby declared that any building or structure that has one or more of the following conditions that is determined to exist by the City building official or his or her designee is declared to be a public nuisance per se and an unsafe, substandard, and dangerous building: A. Inadequate sanitation; B. Structural hazard; ... M. Vacant and not secured against entry to trespassers; ... If the City's building official determines that an unsafe, substandard, and dangerous building or structure can be rehabilitated or repaired and made safe, it shall be abated pursuant to Chapter 8.15 LMC, Procedure for Abatement of Public Nuisances. If the City's building official determines that the condition of the building or structure is in such a dangerous condition that the only feasibly economic alternative is to demolish it, it shall be abated pursuant to the procedures set forth in Chapter 15.20 LMC, Dangerous Buildings.
Full Breakdown
040 of the Livermore Municipal Code lists 14 lettered conditions, from inadequate sanitation and structural hazard to hazardous wiring, faulty weather protection, inadequate exits and fire protection, improper occupancy, and a building left "vacant and not secured against entry to trespassers," any one of which the City's building official can determine makes a structure an "unsafe, substandard, and dangerous building" and therefore a public nuisance per se. 20), the California Building Code's unsafe-buildings section, the state Health and Safety Code's substandard-building statute, and the Uniform Code for the Abatement of Dangerous Buildings. 20. 90 rather than a standard hearing officer. 190.
Violations & Fines
Owning or maintaining a building the building official finds unsafe, substandard, or dangerous under § 8.14.040 is unlawful under § 8.14.050, with each day the condition continues a separate offense. Abatement follows Chapter 8.15's notice, hearing, and cost-recovery sequence, or, where demolition is the only feasible option, the Dangerous Buildings procedure in Chapter 15.20, and unpaid costs and the administrative charge become a lien or special assessment against the property.
Frequently Asked Questions
What makes a building a nuisance under Livermore's code?
Will the City make me repair my building or demolish it?
Can I appeal a dangerous-building notice in Livermore?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Livermore
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