Trego's Mountain Ear

One could be forgiven for assuming that community decay ordinances were the business of rather fussy municipalities in places other than here. One would, as it happens, be wrong on two counts. Lincoln County, Montana, has one.

Back in December of 2018 the Lincoln County Board of Commissioners adopted Ordinance 2018-05 “An Ordinance to Control Community Decay Within Lincoln County and to Establish Procedures for its Enforcement”.

So, this leaves us with several pressing questions:

• What exactly is community decay?
• Who does this apply to?
• Enforcement?

None of these have short answers, so I’ll discuss each in depth in later posts. For now, the quick summary:

• Community Decay
  • “Anything that is injurious to health, indecent, offensive to the senses, or an obstructive of the free use of property so as to interfere with the comfortable enjoyment of life or property...” that affects multiple people. Unless it’s agricultural- then, it’s okay.
• Who does this apply to?
  • Renters/Landowners on property in the county adjacent to a public roadway (We’ll discuss what exactly a public roadway is, for these purposes, at a later date)
• Enforcement
  • Misdemeanor: Fine up to $500 and/or 6 months imprisonment (Each day of violation is a separate violation…)