Santa Maria, CA Property Maintenance: Property Blight (2026)

202 lists the specific conditions that make real property a public nuisance: dilapidated or dangerous buildings unfit for occupancy, including inoperable utilities, failing roofs, structural defects, broken windows or dry rot; abandoned buildings left unoccupied and unsecured, or construction abandoned for 120 consecutive days; and defective, unsightly or deteriorated conditions such as accumulated trash and debris in yards or driveways, dead or overgrown vegetation likely to harbor vermin, crumbling fences and walls, standing water over four inches deep for more than five days, and graffiti.

The chapter also targets stored personal property, dismantled vehicles, and commercial vehicles over 10,000 pounds, eight feet wide, seven feet tall or 21 feet long parked in residential zones, unless screened by a fence or stored in an enclosed garage. 203 declares it a public nuisance to be abated under the chapter's procedures, and the City may record a Notice of Nuisance with the County Recorder to put future buyers on constructive notice; a Notice of Release is recorded once the property is brought back into compliance.

101, who replaced the City's former Code Compliance Board. 207 allows service by personal delivery or mail, with posting and newspaper publication required if service is unsuccessful, and mortgage or deed-of-trust holders must be separately served for building-code violations under subsection (m).