Idaho Falls, ID Property Maintenance: Vacant Lot Maintenance (2026)

Idaho Falls does not exempt vacant or undeveloped lots from its property-maintenance rules. The Sanitation chapter's purpose statement expressly identifies the accumulation of waste "upon private properties, vacant lots and in streets and alleys" as a public nuisance (City Code 8-6-1). Under Title 5, Chapter 8, it is unlawful for any owner or occupant of real property to allow weeds to grow, exist, or accumulate (5-8-11), and weeds are defined as any plant, growing or dead, more than ten (10) inches in height measured from the ground, except ornamentals or food plants; noxious plants are weeds at any height (5-8-2). Section 5-8-10 separately prohibits depositing, storing, or allowing the accumulation of litter, defined to include garbage, junk, refuse, and weeds. When a vacant lot is out of compliance, the special-assessment process in Section 5-8-12 applies: the City gives written notice to the owner (mailed to the address on the Bonneville County assessment rolls and posted on the property), and if the litter or weeds are not removed within fifteen (15) days, the City may remove them and levy a special assessment for the reasonable cost of removal. Unpaid assessments are certified to the Bonneville County assessor, placed on the tax roll, and become a lien against the property collected like other property taxes. A vacant structure that is not secured against entry can also be addressed under the adopted International Property Maintenance Code (7-2-1).