Citrus Heights is dedicated to providing a high quality of life for all its residents. With this goal in mind, the Neighborhood Enhancement Division was developed to respond to concerns related to unsafe, unhealthy, or unsightly conditions in homes and neighborhoods. Neighborhood Enhancement Code, Chapter 50 of the municipal code, constitutes a codification of the general and permanent ordinance of the City.
The Neighborhood Enhancement Division enforces many types of city codes, building codes, vehicle codes, and housing codes to prevent and abate nuisances on private property, such as open and vacant property, dangerous buildings, illegal dumping, overgrown vacant lots, graffiti, junk motor vehicles and other problems. The Code Enforcement team works closely with the Planning Division, Building and Safety Division, General Services Department, and the Police Department to keep the city beautiful and safe. You can help by becoming familiar with the most common violations and reporting them by completing our on-line service request form.
Dispute Resolution Program
Not all situations can be settled by City involvement. Many disagreements and misunderstandings are considered civil matters (like good neighbor fence disputes). The City does realize that sometimes these matters erupt into emotional and confrontational situations. The City is please to offer a program that is used to assist the community in resolving many of these situations, i.e. landlord and tenant disputes; neighbor to neighbor disputes; barking dogs; and business owner and client disputes. This service is free-the City pays the cost to provide this service to the citizens. Dispute resolution, also referred to as mediation, has been quite successful with over 85% of all face to face cases resolved to the satisfaction of both parties. For additional information on this service refer to the Mediation Brochure.
Human Rights and Fair Housing
Tenants and Landlords often have various questions to what their rights are. The City of Citrus Heights and the Sacramento Human Rights/Fair Housing Commission have the answers. To contact Fair Housing staff, call (916) 727-4931 or (916) 444-6903 ext.131. Download a copy of the Fair Housing Handbook or call us at City Hall, (916) 725-2448.
The Fair Housing Handbook includes information on:
- Housing discrimination
- The rights and responsibilities of the tenant and landlord
- Citrus Heights housing programs
- The services of the Human Rights/Fair Housing Commission
- Other agencies that provide assistance and information
Code Enforcement Process
The code enforcement process is initiated by an observation made by a resident. The city relies on residents to help identify possible code violations, particularly in these areas:
- Graffiti on public or private property;
- Shopping carts on streets or sidewalks;
- Illegal dumping of garbage and debris;
- Abandoned and/or inoperable vehicles;
- Illegal dumping of oils and other hazardous materials into storm drains;
- Overgrown foliage blocking stop signs, impeding sight of driveways, or making corners dangerous;
- Large commercial vehicles (e.g. semi-trucks) parked in residential neighborhoods; and,
- Residential businesses causing traffic/noise problems.
How to notify the city of a possible code violation
A complaint about a possible code violation is made by completing our on-line service request form, writing a letter, telephoning (916) 725-2845, sending an e-mail, or stopping by in person to meet with the appropriate city department. In an average year, the city receives several thousand complaints related to possible code enforcement violations.
Please be prepared with specific information, such as the address of the property, detailed description of the situation, and the length of time you have observed the situation. Complaints may be made anonymously. The identity and your complaint will not be disclosed.
Procedure for following up on possible code violations
City staff responds to code enforcement complaints according to the seriousness of the violation and its effect on the community. Situations that appear to pose a serious risk to health and safety are given top priority; others are pursued in the order in which they are received.
For all types of code complaints, the first step in the follow-up procedure is personal contact by a city staff member to ascertain if a code violation exists, and to request compliance. If the individual responsible for the situation is not available, or appears unwilling to voluntarily correct the code violation in a timely manner, a notice of violation or a citation may be issued. The city may also take court action if the situation poses a significant risk to the community, or if the individual has ignored previous notices/citations.
Penalties that may result from code violations
In all cases, the individual responsible for the code violation is given the opportunity to voluntarily correct the situation and comply with current codes without a penalty. If the correction is not made, then the individual may be subject to fines and other penalties.
Code Enforcement Division Contact Information
