As an ordinance of Boundary County, the Boundary County Zoning and Subdivision Ordinance has the force of law and penalties for violations and the process for enforcing violations are outlined in Sections 4. Violations of the ordinance are considered a misdemeanor punishable by fines not to exceed $1000 and/or imprisonment in the county jail not to exceed six months. In addition, the property owner may be required by the court to correct the violation at their own expense, which could mean removing any structure which violates the provisions of the zoning and subdivision ordinance.

Boundary County does not employ a building inspector or an officer or agent to seek out and prosecute violations of the ordinance, but relies instead on complaints from citizens. If you have reason to believe that a violation of this ordinance exists or is about to take place, you should notify the zoning administrator, providing the name of the owner of the property on which the violation may be occurring, the location of the property and the nature of the alleged violation. This notification may be in writing, by telephone, fax or email. You may, if you choose, remain anonymous.

Upon receipt of complaint, the zoning administrator will determine if the complaint is valid and, if it appears that a violation exists, will send the property owner against whom the complaint was made a certified Notice of Violation setting forth the alleged violation(s), the provisions of the zoning and subdivision ordinance which apply and what actions, if any, can be taken to correct the violation. The property owner is then afforded a set amount of time to respond to the notice, either to refute the allegations or to establish a course of action to correct the violation. It is the intent of Boundary County to resolve violations without intervention by the courts whenever possible.

If the nature of the violation is deemed by the Board of County Commissioners to pose a threat to the health or welfare of the citizens of Boundary County, a cease and desist order will be issued by the Prosecuting Attorney pending review and investigation of the violation.

If the property owner fails to respond to the notice of violation in the established time frame, a copy of the complaint is forwarded to the Board of County Commissioners with a recommendation that the complaint be forwarded to the Prosecuting Attorney for further enforcement action.