Merced County, CA Property Maintenance: Property Blight (2026)

010 adopts, by reference, the Uniform Code for the Abatement of Dangerous Buildings, 1997 Edition, as published by the International Conference of Building Officials, with three certified copies kept on file: one with the clerk and two with the deputy director of buildings. 020 confirms the county made no local deletions, amendments, or superseding provisions to the 1997 edition, so the uniform standard controls exactly as written. 060. The dangerous buildings code lets the county's building official (functioning as the deputy director of buildings under Merced's local titling) identify structures that are structurally unsafe, unsanitary, fire hazards, or otherwise dangerous to life and property, and to issue notice and order requiring the owner to repair, vacate, or demolish.

Because this chapter applies only within the unincorporated area, blighted or dangerous structures inside Merced, Los Banos, Atwater, Livingston, Dos Palos, or Gustine fall under each city's own adopted dangerous buildings ordinance, not this county chapter. The adoption traces to Ord. 2024, section 13, enacted in 2022 as part of the county's periodic update of its Title 16 construction codes to the current triennial cycle.