Nuisance Complaints
The Environmental Health Division (EHD) responds to public health nuisance complaints (trash, animal feces, sewage, standing/stagnant water, etc.) in accordance with Arizona Revised Statutes 36-601 and 36-183.02. In addition, the EHD responds to pigeon complaints in accordance with Mohave County ordinance 98-03. This program is complaint driven. If the EHD receives a complaint from the public, the complaint is investigated and deemed to be valid or invalid.
If the complaint is valid, the process may take several months to get the nuisance abated. The process the EHD follows is set up in the Arizona Revised Statutes. A Notice of Violation is issued to the property owner who is responsible for maintaining their premises in a clean and sanitary condition. In most cases, 15 days is allowed for abatement of the nuisance. If it is open sewage, usually only 24 hours is allowed. If the nuisance isn't abated, a Compliance Order is issued to the property owner. The Compliance Order imposes civil penalties of $750 for residential property and up to $5,000 for non-residential property. At this point the property owner will be taken to court -- in a case where compliance is finally achieved, for imposition of the civil penalties and in a case where compliance is not achieved, for a schedule of compliance and for imposition of civil penalties. In the most extreme cases, civil penalties can max out at $10,750 and in many cases, the EHD ultimately cleans up the property and places a property lien. The lien will include civil penalties, all cost associated with abatement and inspection costs.
If you know of a property that needs to be cleaned up please contact our office for assistance. We will take the complaint and make a determination on whether it falls under the public health nuisance statutes.
Complaints may be filed with any of the EHD district offices:
- Bullhead City: 928-758-0704
- Kingman & North Strip: 928-757-0901
- Lake Havasu City: 928-453-0712
Ordinances
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