San Benito County, CA Property Maintenance: Property Blight (2026)

San Benito County Code Section 1.06.030 (Conditions Creating Public Nuisance) declares it unlawful to maintain conditions that constitute visual blight on property in the unincorporated county. The enumerated conditions include junk, trash, debris, scrap metal, wood, rubbish or packing materials (including building, construction, salvage and recyclable material); abandoned, discarded or unused objects and equipment such as furniture, stoves, appliances, refrigerators and freezers; and overgrown, dead, decayed or hazardous trees and vegetation that can attract rodents or constitute a fire hazard or danger to public safety. Enforcement is handled by the Code Enforcement Division of the Resource Management Agency, which acts both proactively and in response to complaints. Code enforcement procedures are set out in Chapter 1.03 (Code Enforcement), which provides for notices of violation, notices and orders to abate, re-inspection, administrative citations, criminal penalties and abatement by the County. Because these are county standards, they apply only within the unincorporated area; the cities of Hollister and San Juan Bautista enforce their own municipal blight codes. Property owners generally receive a notice and an opportunity to correct conditions before fines or county abatement are imposed.