Trego's Mountain Ear

"Serving North Lincoln County"

Tag: Community Decay

  • Community Decay… Part 2

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

    The Community Decay Ordinance for Lincoln County (2018-05) reads “It is unlawful for any person to maintain conditions that contribute to community decay on property owned, occupied, or controlled by him or her on or adjacent to any public roadway within the county.”

    At this point, one might breath a sigh of relief. “On or adjacent to any public roadway”- that can’t apply to very much of the county, right?

    Ah, but this ordinance begins with definitions. Adjacent: “beside, next to, contiguous or nearby. Properties adjacent to any public roadway and properties within public view, as defined within this ordinance”

    This is a rather broad definition of adjacent, and I’d encourage the reader to consider how many places they know of that are “beside, next to, contiguous or nearby” a public roadway.

    Next. Public view: “any area visible from any point up to six feet above the surface of the center of any public roadway”

    So now we have any property “beside, next to, contiguous or nearby” any public roadway and “any area visible from any point up to six feet above the surface of the center of any public roadway”…

    I’d encourage the reader to imagine just how far one could see from six feet above the center of a public roadway on a hill.

    But wait- there’s more! All this assumes that we know what a public roadway is (it’s a road- right? Not quite). Fortunately, the ordinance includes a definition. Public roadway- “any highway, road, alley, lane, parking area, or other public or private space adapted and fitted for public travel that is in common use by the public”

    So, that leaves us with a rather broad idea of what sort of places community decay is not allowed. And we haven’t even gotten to what community decay actually is! More next time.

    Part 1

  • Community Decay…Part 1

    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…)
    Part 2