NuisanceAbatement

Nuisance abatement

The process by which the City declares a property a nuisance and, if the owner does not act, abates it and recovers the cost. The CityManager set the steps out for the CityCommission at CityCommission2025-06-17, reporting back on the Rocky Mountain Building, and cited them to Municipal Code section 8.49:

Initial determination — City staff identify the property as a nuisance and obtain a title report
First notice — a letter to the owner detailing the violation and requiring action within 10 days, completed within 30 days, served by certified mail
Second notice and public hearing — if the owner fails to comply, a second notice issues setting a public hearing; the notice must include a breakdown of costs
Commission hearing — the Commission may adopt a resolution declaring the nuisance and ordering abatement; if the owner fails to act, the City may abate
Cost recovery — after abatement the City holds a hearing to finalise expenses; if unpaid within 5 days the cost becomes a lien and may be collected as such
Completion — once abated, a certificate is filed with the Clerk and Recorder confirming the nuisance has been resolved

Cases in the record

321 1st Avenue SW — Resolution 10581 declaring the nuisance and ordering abatement, adopted 5-0 at CityCommission2025-07-01; Resolution 10624 certifying the abatement and statement of expense complete, adopted 5-0 at CityCommission2026-07-21. A full cycle, start to finish, in a year
816 3rd Avenue South — Resolution 10611, adopted 5-0 at CityCommission2026-01-20. The property later appears in a CommunityDevelopmentBlockGrant agreement with NeighborWorks? Great Falls for purchase and demolition
1915 6th Avenue North — Resolution 10616, adopted 5-0 at CityCommission2026-04-21

Minutes, June 17, 2025: https://greatfallsmt.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Minutes/_06172025-248 Code enforcement: https://greatfallsmt.gov/1008/Code-Enforcement

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Revision 1, last edited 2026-07-26T13:55:00Z by TenthAveSouth.