Pasco, WA Property Maintenance: Property Blight (2026)
Key Facts
- Nuisance declaration authority
- PMC 16.70.020, Code Enforcement Officer
- Appeal window
- 30 days to Code Enforcement Board
- Misdemeanor penalty
- up to $1,000 fine, 90 days jail
- Gross misdemeanor penalty
- up to $5,000 fine, 365 days jail
- Civil penalty cap
- $500/day, $5,000 per 10 days
- Demolition trigger
- repair cost over 60% of structure value
Summary
Pasco declares decayed, damaged, or unsafe buildings and premises public nuisances under PMC 16.70.020 and can order owners to repair, vacate, or demolish them through the Code Enforcement Officer. Noncompliance carries misdemeanor and civil penalties of up to $5,000 plus jail time under PMC 16.70.120.
All buildings or structures in the City which by reason of decay, dilapidation, or damage by fire, the elements, or any other cause, are now or hereafter shall become, in the judgment of the Code Enforcement Officer, dangerous to the lives and safety of persons or property or unsafe for the purpose or purposes for which they are being used, unsafe or unfit structures and premises as defined in this chapter are declared to be public nuisances.
Official source re-checked September 8, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: current through Ordinance 4837, passed May 4, 2026).
Full Breakdown
020). 030 lists nineteen specific triggers, including exit ways too narrow or unsafe for use in a fire, structural stress exceeding one-and-a-half times allowable working stress, walls out of plumb by more than a third of the base, damage exceeding 33 percent of supporting members or 50 percent of nonsupporting members, six months of abandonment creating an attractive nuisance, and inadequate garbage, sanitation or light facilities that the Health Officer finds unfit for habitation. 050: demolition is required where vertical members lean past the middle third of the base, 33 percent of supporting members are damaged, restoration would cost over 60 percent of the structure's value, or fire or other calamity damage exceeding 30 percent of value has left the building vacant six months or more. 060. 080, and from there to Franklin County Superior Court.
Violations & Fines
Occupying a building the City has ordered vacated, or failing to comply with an abatement order, is a misdemeanor under PMC 16.70.120 punishable by a fine up to $1,000 and up to 90 days in jail; a second or continuing day of noncompliance becomes a gross misdemeanor punishable by up to $5,000 and up to 365 days. A parallel civil penalty caps first-time noncompliance at $500 per day, up to $5,000 over 10 days, with higher penalties possible for repeat violations.
Frequently Asked Questions
What makes a building a nuisance under Pasco's code?
Can the City force demolition of an unsafe building in Pasco?
What happens if I ignore a Pasco abatement order?
Who pays if the City demolishes a dangerous building in Pasco?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Pasco
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