Richland, WA Property Maintenance: Vacant Lot Maintenance (2026)

Richland Municipal Code § 10.04.040(F) declares it a nuisance to erect, place, deposit, or permit to remain on any private lot, vacant lot, building, or premises, or in any street, alley, sidewalk, or park, more than two cubic yards of filthy, littered, or trash-covered material. The list of covered material is specific: rags, empty barrels, boxes, crates, packing cases, scrap wood, scrap iron and metal that is not neatly piled, bottles, cans, glass, ashes, and broken stone or cement kept outside covered bins, plus decaying vegetation, manure, or dead animals.

The section reaches storage in a trailer, pickup bed, or other portable container in the same volume. Enforcement runs through RMC Title 10.02: the applicable department director (Development Services code enforcement) first seeks voluntary correction under § 10.02.040, then, per §§ 10.04.080 through 10.04.090, if the responsible person does not correct the condition the city acquires jurisdiction 10 days after notice to abate the lot itself, billing the cost as a civil debt against the owner. Under § 10.04.050, failure to comply with a final compliance order draws a civil penalty as set under § 10.02.050(E): a $50 minimum per offense, up to $500 per violation per day, capped at $5,000 for all offenses, doubled for a repeat violation at the same location.

A third violation of the same section at the same location within two years is charged as a criminal misdemeanor under § 1.30.010, punishable by up to 90 days in the Benton County jail or a $1,000 fine.