City holds 'show cause' hearings in effort to impose nuisance ordinance

Nine ‘show cause’ hearings were the stars of the Ritzville City Council meeting on May 7, as the City continues its crackdown on properties violating Ritzville’s nuisance ordinance.

Collectively, the nine hearings took close to an hour to get through, as councilmembers voted to either: take no further action on a property; grant an extension to allow more time for the landowners to continue addressing the problems laid out by the City; or to adopt a resolution ordering the abatement of the nuisance on behalf of the City, at the cost of the landowner.

Many of the show cause hearings dealt with...