County code compliance team reports enforcement activity: building, cannabis and environmental health cases

Trinity County’s Community Development Department reported on July 1 that code compliance work consolidated into the department on July 1 and that staff have been managing building, planning, cannabis and environmental-health complaints across the county.

Ed Presley, who presented the update, said the division enforces county and state building, zoning and environmental-health requirements and coordinates with planning, building, cannabis and environmental-health divisions—plus outside agencies when necessary. He described the complaint process: members of the public can file complaints online or in person and attach photographs, and compliance staff verify conditions on site before taking action.

Presley provided case counts and outcomes since the July 1 transition. He said the building division had issued 62 notices of violation (NOVs), of which 12 had been closed and 50 remained in process; planning showed 82 NOVs with 35 property owners requesting guidance and 10 reaching 100% compliance. For the cannabis program Presley said the division issued 27 NOVs in 2024 (17 resolved within the seven-day abatement period; 10 accrued fees) and six NOVs so far in 2025 (three resolved, three unresolved and still in the abatement window).

Presley said the county’s environmental-health work includes many program areas (septic and well inspections, food establishment compliance, public pools and a recent CUPA hazardous-materials responsibility) and that the public-centered complaint process can be used confidentially. He emphasized staff generally seek voluntary compliance first and escalate to fines, injunctions or referral to county counsel or law enforcement when violations persist.

Board members asked for the detailed statistics Presley provided to be circulated to the board. A member of the public raised concerns about visible blight in Weaverville and asked staff to review the county’s blight ordinance for enforceability; supervisors asked staff to provide public information explaining the current ordinance and next steps for any planned revisions.

Why this matters: County code enforcement affects public safety, environmental protection, land use compliance and neighborhood quality of life. The transition of compliance into Community Development centralizes enforcement staff and responsibilities and the statistics indicate active caseloads across several program areas.