St. George, UT Property Maintenance: Property Blight (2026)
Key Facts
- Notice period
- 10 days to abate after notice
- Cost recovery
- City bills cleanup cost plus 10% interest
- Enforcement tool
- Recorded lien on the property
- Criminal penalty
- Class B misdemeanor for maintaining nuisance
Summary
St. George treats junk, inoperable vehicles, broken machinery and noxious weeds left on private property as a public nuisance the city can order abated, with unpaid cleanup costs becoming a lien on the property.
Offensive Condition Or Refuse On Private Property: Whenever there shall be found on or about any lot or parcel of property, whether vacant or occupied, any garbage, refuse, junk, used materials and merchandise, effluvia, kitchen waste, trash, inoperable motor vehicles, broken machinery, rank and noxious weeds, or other unsightly or deleterious objects or conditions that are offensive to the order and economy of the city, as designated in section 4-2-1 of this chapter, they shall be deemed a nuisance.
D. Slaughterhouses: If the owner of any slaughterhouse or other place wherein any swine, cattle, sheep or other animals are slaughtered, shall permit the same to remain unclean to the unnecessary annoyance of the citizens of the city, or in any state or condition detrimental to the public health, the same shall be deemed a nuisance.
E. Water Pollution: Any pollution of the waters of this city, as defined in Utah Code Annotated section 19-5-102, shall constitute a nuisance within the meaning of this chapter.
F. Breeding Places For Flies: It shall be unlawful for any person to maintain a condition within the city which unreasonably promotes or encourages the breeding of flies, mosquitoes, rats or other form of animal life which may be disease carriers or which otherwise constitutes a nuisance, as designated in section 4-2-1 of this chapter.
Official source re-checked September 8, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: current through Ordinance 2026-062, passed August 6, 2026).
Full Breakdown
City code section 4-2-3(C) declares garbage, refuse, junk, used materials, trash, inoperable motor vehicles, broken machinery, and rank or noxious weeds on any lot a nuisance if offensive to the order and economy of the city. Under section 4-2-5, the city gives the owner written notice to abate within 10 days; if the owner refuses, the city can clean it up itself and bill the cost plus 10% annual interest, recording a sworn statement that becomes a lien on the property. Maintaining the nuisance after notice is a class B misdemeanor under section 4-2-6.
Violations & Fines
Failure to abate after 10-day written notice lets the city remove the condition and lien the property for costs plus 10% annual interest; maintaining a nuisance is a class B misdemeanor under City Code section 4-2-6.
Frequently Asked Questions
What counts as a blight nuisance in St. George?
What happens if I ignore the city's cleanup notice?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in St. George
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