Frequently Asked Questions

Teton County has one Code Compliance Officer who investigates alleged violations, performs site inspections, and strives to achieve prevention and abatement of violations.

No. Many of the violation investigations take place after a concerned citizen or neighbor makes a complaint. When a property has a new development permit or building permit, inspections are made at that time to ensure the project complies with the approved permit. With Teton County issuing over 20 types of permits and covering over 4,000 square miles, unfortunately there are not enough resources to inspect every property on a regular basis.

Once staff receives a complaint, a Notice of Complaint may be issued to the property owner in question. This gives the property owner a chance to respond to the alleged violation. Staff may make inspect the site if warranted to confirm a violation. Staff may contact other neighbors or agencies to confirm violations or put together a history of a property, research planning records and assessor records, conduct online searches for violations, etc. Staff strives to work with property owners to correct violations. Nine times out of ten, owners cooperate and bring their property into compliance. For that one out of ten owners who do not cooperate, staff is forced to present the case to the County Attorney and the Board of County Commissioners. This may result in abatement hearings, court proceedings and substantial fines.

Complainants’ names are withheld from the public during an investigation; however, if a property owner or his/her agent makes a written request or Teton County is ordered to release all information through a court order, the complainant’s name will be given.