Code Enforcement

The Town of Corte Madera’s Code Enforcement Department serves to improve quality of life issues as well as protect the health and safety of our Town’s residents. Code Enforcement Officers work with the Central Marin Police Authority, along with all Town departments to prevent, investigate, and enforce violations of the Town’s Municipal Code as well as all state building codes related to construction matters. 

The Department of Code Enforcement works closely with the Town’s Building Division of the Department of Community Development and Department of Public Works to investigate complaints regarding construction work and encroachments into the public right-of-way that lack the necessary Town issued permits. All complaints are investigated to determine whether a violation exists and what steps are necessary to correct the violation. Our Code Enforcement Team works with homeowners and contractors by connecting both parties to the appropriate Town departments to facilitate the issuance of any necessary permits.  

The Code Enforcement Team uses a variety of methods to enforce local rules, regulations, and ordinances. These methods include the issuance of the following:

  1. Stop Work Notice- Typically issued to a property owner for work performed without necessary building permits;
  2. Official/Documented Warning- Documented warning of a municipal code violation issued on an Administrative Citation form with no financial penalties; 
  3. Notice of Violation- Formal letter advising the responsible party of a violation of a municipal code section(s), with an order to stop the violation, prevent it from reoccurring, advisement of the associated fine, and a time frame to correct the condition;
  4. Pre-Administration Citation Notice- Pre-Administrative Citation is similar to the Notice of Violation; however, it is in an Administrative Citation format. The responsible party is advised of the municipal code sections violated, the fines for each specific violation, and an order to correct the condition/violation by a specific date. No fines are assessed if the condition is corrected by the deadline provided. The Pre-Administrative Citation may be issued directly to the responsible party or mailed to the involved property owner; and 
  5. Administrative Citation- An Administrative Citation may be issued to the responsible party when the Code Enforcement Officer determines a violation of the Corte Madera Municipal Code has occurred, or, if a violation described in the Pre-Administrative Citation Notice has not been remedied in the requisite period. The citation officer may issue and serve a citation to any person responsible for that violation. The Administrative Citation Ordinance was implemented to lessen the burden on local law enforcement and the Marin County Superior Court system. Administrative Citations are punishable by fine only, and can be resolved/corrected by paying the administrative fine on the citation to the Town’s finance department within a specified time-period. Re-occurring violations of the same municipal code violation may result in enhanced fees. 

For a complete review of the Municipal Code sections related to the Administrative Citation Ordinance, please see Chapter 9.05 “Administrative Citation” by clicking here.

If you would like the Town’s Code Enforcement to investigate a potential violation or to learn more about the Code Enforcement and/or our process, you may contact our team as follows:

Email: codeenforcement@tcmmail.org  

Phone: (415) 927-5193  

If you would like to submit a formal complaint about a potential municipal code or ordinance violation occurring in Town, please download the complaint form and return the signed complaint form to our office by email, US mail or in person. 

All complaints are considered confidential. The identity of involved parties will not be disclosed during the course of our Code Case Investigation.