Washoe County

Administrative Enforcement

Home Page

Administrative Enforcement Code 

The Washoe County Administrative Enforcement Code enables County agencies and departments to enforce Washoe County Code through an administrative process for many Code violations.  Each County agency or department manages its own code compliance efforts using the administrative enforcement process.  The Administrative Hearing Office oversees all administrative hearings and manages the contracts for Washoe County Administrative Hearing Officers.

The Administrative Enforcement Code may be found at the following link:

Administrative Enforcement Code

Administrative Enforcement Process 

More information on the administrative enforcement process may be found by following the link shown below to the Summary of Process.  The summary includes explanations about each phase of the process, and two flowcharts which illustrate the process.  The summary also includes the administrative enforcement fees currently in effect.

Summary of Process

Administrative Hearings 

Administrative hearings may be requested when a citizen receives a County Notice of Violation or Notice of Abatement (see the Summary of Process for more information on these notices).  Administrative hearings are mandatory for a notice issued for work or activity performed without the proper permit or license, or for the confirmation of costs associated with a County agency performed abatement.  The following link provides an overview of the administrative hearing process.  More information on administrative hearings may be obtained from the Administrative Hearing Office.

Administrative Hearing Process

Contact Information:

Administrative Hearing Office:	775.353.8999
	775.353.8905
	aho@washoecounty.us (e-mail)

Administrative Hearing Officers 

The Administrative Hearing Office manages the contracts for Washoe County Administrative Hearing Officers.  Hearing Officers are independent contracts approved by the Washoe County Commission.  The following individuals are currently under contract with Washoe County to serve as a Hearing Officer:

Janet S. Bessemer	Nancyann Leeder
Cheryl Field-Lang	John C. Smith
Nancy Moss Ghusn	Keith Tierney
Jill I. Greiner	Lance R. Van Lydergraf
Gayle Holderer	R. ElizaBeth Webb Beyer

Washoe County Administrative Hearing Officers are compensated at a rate established by the Washoe County Commission.  The current compensation rate may be found at the following link:

Hearing Officer Compensation Rate

Persons interested in becoming a Washoe County Administrative Hearing Officer should contact the Administrative Hearing Officer for more information on required qualifications, mandatory requirements, and to obtain an independent contractors agreement form.

Violations of County Codes

Violations of County Codes should be reported directly to the County agency responsible to enforce those codes. 

Direct reporting to the appropriate County agency minimizes referral of a caller to various agencies, thus easing frustration for the caller, and also ensures that the County staff is trained in that specific area of Code compliance.  The following list of possible Code violations, and the corresponding County agency, covers the vast majority of commonly reported Code violations.

Code Violation	Responsible County Agency
Countywide
Animal related	Regional Animal Services P: 775.353.8900
animals at large or unrestrained animals dangerous animals no license or permit noisy animals
Health related	Health District Phone: 775.328-2434
air quality discharge of pollutants into water or stormwater systems hazardous waste improperly stored trash, garbage, and/or waste vermin or vector problems
Fire Districts (Must know within which district the problem exists)	(See specific fire district below)
blocking fire lanes or fire hydrants hazardous materials non-compliance with Fire Code inspections overgrown vegetation causing a fire hazard
Crystal Bay/Incline Village	North Lake Tahoe Fire Protection District P: 775.831.0351
Reno/Truckee Meadows District	Reno Fire Department P: 775.334.2121
Sparks	Sparks Fire Department P: 775.353.2231
Sierra Fire Protection District	Sierra Fire Protection District P: 775.849.1108
Unincorporated County
Building Related	Building and Safety Phone: 775.328.2020
Land Use, zoning or licenses	Community Development Phone: 775.328.6106
conducting business without a license living in a recreational vehicle junk vehicle storage no liquor or gaming license outdoor storage of appliances and/or building material cargo or storage container placement
Public Safety	Sheriff's Office Phone: 775.328.3001
distrubing the peace dumping of garbage or waste onto public lands operating an off-road vehicle or motocycle near residences dangerous or unsafe conditions obstructing public roads or trails graffiti
Engineering	Public Works (Engineering) Phone: 775.328.2040
discharge of pollutants into storm water systems grading without a permit obstructing a public road erosion or drainage causing damage to adjacent lands
Parks	Regional Parks and Open Space Phone: 775.823.6500
dumping of garbage or waste onto parks lands obstructing public trails

 

Nuisance Code Violations

Specific County agencies have been designated to investigate and resolve nuisances regulated by the Washoe County Nuisance code.  The following link outlines the County agency responsible for each regulated nuisance.  There may be more than one agency listed for a nuisance and the agency most closely associated with the specific problem (e.g., a Fire Agency for overgrown weeds) should be contacted.

Responsible Agencies (Bob W.: Need File-SMT)