Vacant property where drugs were produced can be condemned indefinitely unless brought up to code

 

Hillsboro, OR: Due to nuisance ordinance clause regarding vacant property, those properties found to have been involved in methamphetamine production are being condemned.

 

Some properties not registered as vacant can be overlooked, and criminal elements can move in to use those for activities that pose a safety risk to the public. Even after such crime has been addressed, leftover chemicals from such illicit use can remain.

 

The current ordinance prevents “putrid, repugnant, or unhealthy substances to remain on any lot or land within the city limits.” As such, a property can be condemned by the city, with no allowance for any human habitation, thereby forcing action to not only clean up all traces from said drug creation on the property, but also to come into line with other ordinance rules for maintaining the structure and land.

 

The city does not plan to dispute claims where a property is not contaminated, though such a declaration by an owner that a property is not contaminated with illicit substance residue places all legal liability for any happenings onto the property owner and not the city.

 

Ascent combines focused research and centralized operations oversight to create innovative outsourced solutions for code enforcement violations, vacant property registration ordinances, property preservation, and other vendor management needs from across the United States.