Broomfield, CO Property Maintenance: Vacant Lot Maintenance (2026)

Section 8-08-020 states the city's intent to require removal of weeds, brush, hazardous trees, and rubbish of all kinds from lots and tracts of land within the city, an authority the ordinance traces to Section 31-15-401(1)(d), C.R.S. That duty reaches unimproved and vacant parcels the same as built lots: 8-08-040(B)(1) separately bars the outside accumulation of rubbish upon or around any residential lot, including porches and landings, and in multifamily zones extends the duty to common areas, parking areas, and streets outside trash enclosures. Vacant land larger than twenty acres under an approved PUD but without an approved site development plan is the one carved-out exception under 8-08-040(a)(2)(b).

Owners of noncompliant vacant lots receive a written notice under 8-08-050 by mail, email, posting, or personal service. That notice gives seven days to remove the weeds, rubbish, or unlawful outside storage; if the owner does not act, the city enters the lot, removes the material, and assesses the full cost plus a $75.00 inspection and administrative fee against the property. A second notice on the same lot within eighteen months compresses that cure period from seven days to three. Unpaid assessments become a lien with priority over every claim except general taxes and prior special assessments, may be foreclosed the way a mechanic's lien is foreclosed under Title 38, Article 39, C.R.S., and can be certified to the county treasurer with a ten-percent collection penalty.