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

YMC § 11.40.301.3 amends IPMC Section 301.3 to reach vacant land as well as vacant buildings, requiring both to be 'maintained in a clean, safe, secure and sanitary condition...so as not to cause a blighting problem, a nuisance, or adversely affect the public health or safety.' The following section, § 11.40.301.4, adds that any structure the code official orders boarded up for public health, safety, or to stop an imminent danger must meet the minimum securing standard in § 11.40.301.4.1: exterior doors, windows and other unsecured openings within seven feet of grade must be covered with at least half-inch nominal-thickness exterior-grade structural wood sheathing (or an approved transparent plastic or metal panel), fastened with 1.5-inch screws or equivalent, spaced no more than six inches apart around the opening's perimeter.

A code official who finds a violation must serve written notice under § 11.40.107 describing the property by its Yakima County Assessor parcel number, stating the violation and the required correction, and informing the owner of appeal rights. Unresolved violations trigger the penalty schedule at § 11.40.106.4: $250 for failing to abate after the notice deadline, escalating to $500, $750 and $1,000 for repeat offenses within 24 months, plus $50 per day the violation continues. Costs and penalties become a lien on the property under § 11.40.106.6, collected through the Yakima County tax rolls. An owner may appeal any notice or order to the city's hearing examiner within 20 days under § 11.40.111.