Spokane Valley, WA Property Maintenance: Vacant Lot Maintenance (2026)

Spokane Valley does not run a separate vacant-lot maintenance chapter; unimproved parcels are policed under the same general nuisance ordinance, SVMC § 7.05.040, that applies to every lot in the City. Subsection A, "Vegetation," covers two distinct problems. Paragraph A(1) bans vegetation that obstructs public walkways, sidewalks, or streets or that violates the City's clear-view triangle rules. Paragraph A(2), the provision that reaches vacant land specifically, states: "Any growth of noxious weeds or toxic vegetation shall be subject to Chapter 16-750 WAC as currently adopted and hereafter amended," incorporating the Washington State Noxious Weed Control Board's regulated species list by reference rather than setting its own local weed list.

Because an empty lot with no structure to maintain still has ground cover, a vacant parcel that grows a WAC-listed noxious weed is a code violation exactly the same as if the growth were on a landscaped, occupied lot. The City's compliance chapter, SVMC § 7.05.030, lets the city manager or designee act on field observations of a violation without waiting for a formal complaint, and § 7.05.060 routes any nuisance found under § 7.05.040 through the notice-and-order and civil-penalty procedures of Chapter 17.100 SVMC. A property owner who lets a vacant lot go to noxious weeds faces the same escalating civil-penalty schedule, warning, correction period, and appeal rights as any other § 7.05.040 nuisance.