The health and safety of people who live, work and play in Mason County is important to all residents and businesses as is the economic welfare and natural beauty of our County.  Our Code Compliance Program provides necessary safeguards by encouraging residents and businesses to work toward caring for and improving our County. Examples of common code violations include:

• Junk vehicles on property or parked on lawns/yards
• Retaining walls built without permits
• Grading without permits
• Critical areas or stormwater violations
• Noise
• RV parking in unauthorized areas
• Illegal signage
• Reroofing or remodeling without permits
• Junkyards in Residential Zoning Districts
• Dangerous Buildings
• Substandard structures
• Business operated in a residential district
• Electrical, mechanical added without permits
• More animals/pets than zoning regulations allow

Compliance Process

The process outlined below is the general Mason County process used for code violations.  This format may vary, based on the severity of the violation. The goal of County’s code compliance process and Code Enforcement Officers is to ensure safety through an efficient, civil administrative system to enforce the regulations of the County, to provide an opportunity for an appeal of determinations of violations and prompt hearings and decisions on any such appeals, to establish monetary penalties for violations, and to provide for the collection of these penalties.

• Step 1:  After receiving a complaint, a Code Enforcement Officer visits the site to validate the complaint.
• Step 2:  If the complaint is valid, the County will issue a courtesy Notice of Violation providing 30 days to abate the violation(s) or issue a Stop Work Order if necessary.  Both of these letters outline penalties that will apply if violation(s) are not corrected, appealed or a Voluntary Correction Agreement is filed.  If the complaint is invalid, the case will be closed.
• Step 3:  If the violation(s) are not corrected within the provided 30 day timeline, the County may assess fines and penalties that may include civil infractions, criminal citations, or abatement orders pursuant to Mason County Code.

Civil Infractions and Criminal Citations

Civil Infractions are noncriminal (like parking tickets), and a contested or mitigated hearing may be requested before Hearings Examiner. Criminal Citations are a summons and require an appearance before the court. If the violations are corrected as outlined in a correction agreement before the court hearing date, Mason County may reach an agreement with the defendant and ask the court to dismiss the infraction or reduce the fine.

Abatement Orders

In addition, the Building Official or Enforcement Officer may issue an Abatement Order requiring the work to be completed by a specific date, and, if necessary, a lien may be placed on the property. If the work is still not done, the County may perform the work and recover the costs from the property owner. If the penalties and costs of abatement are not paid, they may be collected in a variety of ways, including a lien against the property.

Reporting Violations or Concerns

Code compliance and enforcement services are provided by several different Mason County Departments.  If you have any questions about any of these services, please feel free to contact Planning Services at (360) 427-9670 x363.  The Compliance Process provides a general overview of the steps to resolve code violations. The following is a list of County Department contacts for common code compliance issues:

• Report Investigation Form