Sahuarita, AZ Property Maintenance: Property Blight (2026)
Key Facts
- Notice period
- At least 30 days before compliance deadline
- Recording office
- Pima County recorder
- Assessment terms
- 1 to 10 years, scaled by amount owed
- Interest on unpaid assessment
- A.R.S. Section 44-1201 rate
- Violation classification
- Civil infraction plus full abatement costs
- Appeal path
- Board of appeals under STC 15.05.080
Summary
Sahuarita orders owners to clear filth, debris and dilapidated structures or fix any building-code hazard on their property under Town Code Section 15.10.010. After at least 30 days' written notice, the town can abate the hazard itself and record a lien-backed assessment against the property, payable over one to ten years depending on the amount owed.
§ 15.10.010. Abatement of conditions constituting a hazard to public health and safety. A. The owner, lessee or occupant of property shall remove accumulations of filth, debris or dilapidated structures, or abate any condition which is in violation of building codes adopted by STC § 15.05.020, which constitute a hazard to public health and safety from buildings, grounds, lots, contiguous sidewalks, streets and alleys. ... b. The notice shall be given not less than 30 days before the day set for compliance and shall include the legal description of the property and the cost of such removal to the town if the owner, occupant or lessee does not comply. ... 1. Assessments of less than $500.00 shall be paid within one year after the assessment is recorded. ... 5. Assessments of $10,000 or more shall be paid within 10 years after the assessment is recorded.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: rev 4745395; v0 updated 2025-12-08; through 12-08-2025).
Full Breakdown
020 and constitutes a hazard to public health and safety on buildings, grounds, lots, contiguous sidewalks, streets and alleys. Before the town can act, it must give written notice by personal service or certified mail to the owner (or the owner's authorized or statutory agent) and to any occupant or lessee, mailed to the last known address and to the address the property tax bill was sent to. 080's board of appeals process. The town may record the notice with the Pima County recorder, and must record a release once compliance is satisfied.
010(B) lets the town remove, abate or enjoin the condition itself, then bill the property under subsection (C) for the cost, including inspection and other incidental expenses, recorded as an assessment with the Pima County recorder. S. Section 44-1201 once past due. 020 makes any violation of the chapter a civil infraction, on top of liability for the town's full abatement costs.
Violations & Fines
Ignoring an abatement notice is a civil infraction under Section 15.10.020, and the responsible owner, lienholder, lessee or occupant also owes the full cost of the town's cleanup, including inspection and incidental expenses. That cost becomes a recorded assessment against the property, senior to most other liens, due in installments of one to ten years depending on the amount, and accruing interest under A.R.S. Section 44-1201 once overdue.
Frequently Asked Questions
What can the town make me clean up under this ordinance?
How much notice does Sahuarita give before abating a hazard itself?
What happens if I do not pay the town's abatement bill?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Sahuarita
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