Hearing examiner says active code violation — overgrown vegetation and homeless encampment — could block rezoning approval

During the rezoning hearing for REZ2025‑07, the hearing examiner raised an active code‑enforcement issue on the subject parcel and said county rules bar issuance of development permits while such violations remain unresolved. The examiner told the applicant and staff she had checked records and an order acknowledging compliance had not been issued.

"I understand that there is a code violation on the property, and uh the land [snorts] development code prohibits the issuance of development permits on properties that are subject to code violations until the violation has been acknowledged as abated through an order acknowledging compliance," the examiner said. County staff confirmed inspections had found noncompliance as of the staff report publication and that the property remained listed as awaiting compliance inspection on the morning of the hearing.

The applicant’s representative acknowledged earlier nuisance‑accumulation work had been performed but that remaining issues persisted; staff and the examiner said the outstanding violation could prevent any effective zoning or development permits until an order of compliance is issued. The examiner said she would consult the county attorney to determine whether she could lawfully issue any approval that would be effective while the violation is unresolved.

Neighbors at the hearing described a persistent homeless encampment and urged the owner to secure the property; one neighbor said, "There was a There was a death over there. Of one of the homeless people on the property." That public‑safety concern was not answered at the hearing other than the examiner's statement that enforcement and an order acknowledging compliance would need to be resolved.