Code Enforcement

Investigation of compliance concerns are usually initiated by community members, who report their concerns to the City by calling in or logging complaints to the left by clicking on the Submit a Request button. When complaints are received, Code Enforcement Officers respond by inspecting the property of concern. If the officer observes violations, the property owner is informed and Code Enforcement works with them to correct identified violations. The Property Maintenance Code Book can be found by clicking the link to the left.

Categories of Violations
Property Maintenance
Vegetation
Building Violations
Zoning Code Violations
Sign Violations


Steps to Compliance

1. A community member reports a concern to the Code Enforcement Office or online by submitting a request to the left. Most commonly reported concerns are:

a. Abandoned or neglected buildings or vehicles
b. Garbage or debris on private property
c. Overgrown vegetation on private property

2. A Code Enforcement Officer inspects the property of concern.

a. If no violation is found, the case is closed, “no violation.”

3. If a violation is confirmed, a Notice of Violation is mailed to both the property owner and the address of where the violation is located, (if different from the property owner's address).

a. The Notice of Violation indicates the timeline in which the violation must be corrected. If the property owner needs more time to bring the property into compliance, a reasonable timeline extension may be requested, by submitting a “plan of repair” to the Code Enforcement Officer who issued the Notice of Violation.

b. The Code Enforcement Office provides guidance to the property owner on options for bringing the property into compliance with City of Russellville Zoning Code or City adopted Ordinances.

4. Once repairs are due for completion, the Code Enforcement officer re-inspects the property.

a. If violation has been corrected, the case is closed.

5. If the issue is still present or progress has not been made as stated in an approved plan of repair, the City may issue civil penalties or pursue abatement.

a. The Code Enforcement Officer makes regular re-inspections and may initiate progressive enforcement action until compliance is met.

Requesting Case Details

If you would like further information about code enforcement details on a property that you do not own, please submit a public disclosure request to the City.

Your public disclosure request should include:

• The type of document you are requesting, photos of violations, notices mailed to property owners, outstanding invoices, cancelled or incomplete permits, or repair agreements with the property owner.
• Date or date range of documents being requested