Terms of Use

By accessing or using the CountyWatch LLC application, widget, or related services (collectively, the "Service"), you agree to be bound by these Terms of Use. If you do not agree to these terms, you must not use the Service. Your continued use of the Service constitutes acceptance of any modifications to these terms.

Privacy: Your use of the Service is also governed by our Privacy Policy, which is available at https://countywatch.co/privacy and is incorporated into these Terms by reference.

Eligibility and Age Restriction: You must be at least eighteen (18) years of age to use the Service. By agreeing to these Terms, you represent and warrant that you are 18 or older. We do not knowingly collect data from or permit the use of this Service by anyone under the age of 18.

The Service is designed to notify users of local planning proposals. The Service aggregates information from public government sources, third-party data, and user submissions.

Direct Users (B2C): We grant you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, and revocable license to use the Service for your personal, non-commercial use.

Payment and Subscriptions: Subscription fees are non-refundable, and we reserve the right to change pricing at any time. We are not liable for billing errors caused by third-party payment processors.

Billing and Auto-Renewal: If you enroll in a paid subscription, your subscription will automatically renew at the end of each billing cycle unless you cancel it before the renewal date. You authorize us (and our third-party payment processors) to charge your payment method for the applicable subscription fees on a recurring basis. You may cancel your subscription at any time through your account settings; however, subscription fees are non-refundable. We reserve the right to change our pricing at any time, and your continued use of the Service after such price changes constitutes your acceptance. We are not liable for any billing errors or issues caused by third-party payment processors.

All information provided through the Service is aggregated from public sources and is provided for general informational purposes only. We make no guarantees regarding:

• The completeness, accuracy, or timeliness of planning proposal listings, addresses, or permit statuses.
• The geographic coverage of the Service, which may be incomplete or inconsistent across different regions.

Independent Service and Government Data Disclaimer: CountyWatch LLC is a privately owned and operated commercial application. We are not a government agency, nor are we affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by any municipality, county, state, or federal government entity. The Service aggregates and displays publicly available information, documents, and data sourced from various government portals and third-party websites. We do not claim ownership or copyright over the original public documents, notices, or architectural plans accessed through the Service. The Service provides links back to the original source URLs whenever possible. Your use of these original government documents may be subject to the terms of service of the originating government website.

YOU MUST INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY ALL INFORMATION with official government agencies or planning departments before making any decisions. The Service does not provide legal, financial, or real estate advice.

Our email notification system is provided as a convenience only; you are solely responsible for monitoring official government channels for critical deadlines.

No Real-Time Emergency or Official Notice Reliance: The Service does not constitute "Official Legal Notice" under any municipal, state, or federal code. We do not guarantee the timeliness of notifications, nor do we guarantee that you will receive notifications for all relevant proposals in your area. You should not rely solely on our notifications for time-sensitive information. YOU ARE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE for monitoring official government channels and meeting any deadlines for public comment, hearings, or participation. We are not liable for any missed deadlines, hearings, or opportunities to comment on proposals.

THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED. We make no warranties regarding the accuracy of information, the reliability of the Service, or the security of data transmitted.

Beta Features: From time to time, we may offer new "beta" features, modules, or tools. Such features are offered solely for experimental purposes and without any warranty of any kind, and may be modified or withdrawn at our sole discretion.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) Summaries and Tools: To assist you in navigating complex municipal planning proposals, the Service may feature Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools, chatbots, or automated summaries. By using these features, you acknowledge that AI systems can sometimes generate incorrect, incomplete, or misleading information. AI-generated summaries are provided for convenience only and do not constitute professional, legal, or real estate advice. You agree to independently verify any information provided by AI tools against the official public government records. We disclaim all liability for any actions you take or fail to take based on AI-generated outputs.

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, WE SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER. This includes direct, indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages arising from your use of the Service. We are not liable for missed deadlines to comment on proposals, financial losses from real estate decisions, or property damage.

You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless us and our affiliates from any claims, liabilities, damages, or expenses (including reasonable attorney fees) arising from your use of the Service, your violation of these Terms, or any decisions you take based on information from the Service.

These Terms shall be governed by the laws of the State of California. Any dispute, claim, or controversy arising out of or relating to these Terms or the breach, termination, enforcement, interpretation, or validity thereof, including the determination of the scope or applicability of this agreement to arbitrate, shall be determined by arbitration in Calaveras County, California before one arbitrator. The arbitration shall be administered by AAA pursuant to its Comprehensive Arbitration Rules and Procedures. However, either party may bring an individual action in small claims court. Either party may also seek injunctive or other equitable relief in a court of competent jurisdiction for the alleged unlawful use of copyrights, trademarks, trade names, logos, trade secrets, or patents.

YOU AND WE AGREE THAT EACH MAY BRING CLAIMS AGAINST THE OTHER ONLY IN YOUR OR OUR INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY, AND NOT AS A PLAINTIFF OR CLASS MEMBER IN ANY PURPORTED CLASS OR REPRESENTATIVE PROCEEDING. This provision shall not prohibit public injunctive relief.

Arbitration Opt-Out: You may opt out of the arbitration agreement in this Section by sending written notice of your decision to opt out to alerts@countywatch.co within thirty (30) days of first accepting these Terms. Your notice must include your name, the email address associated with your account, and a clear statement that you wish to opt out of arbitration. If you opt out, all disputes will be resolved exclusively in the state or federal courts located in Calaveras County, California, and you consent to personal jurisdiction in those courts. Opting out of arbitration does not affect any other provision of these Terms.

You agree to use the Service only for lawful purposes. The Service may display publicly available information regarding planning proposals, which may include the names, emails, and phone numbers of applicants. You strictly agree not to use the Service or any data obtained through the Service to:

• Harass, stalk, threaten, dox, or otherwise violate the legal rights (including the rights of privacy and publicity) of any applicant, property owner, government official, or other individual.
• Engage in any discriminatory practices or weaponize zoning and planning data in violation of the Fair Housing Act or other applicable civil rights laws.
• Interfere with or disrupt the operation of the Service or the servers or networks used to make the Service available.
• Post, transmit, or share any content that is defamatory, libelous, or tortious regarding municipal governments, planning board officials, telecommunications companies, contractors, or corporate applicants. The Service must not be used as a platform to coordinate unlawful interference with permitted construction or lawful civic processes.
• Represent, imply, or suggest that any data, notice, or content obtained from the Service constitutes an official government notice, legal filing, or communication from any government agency. You may not present CountyWatch data as an official or authoritative government source in any context.

The CountyWatch Service — including its underlying software, design, logos, and the compiled, organized, and curated database of planning proposal data — constitutes proprietary intellectual property of CountyWatch LLC and is protected by copyright, trade secret, and other applicable intellectual property laws. While individual public government records may originate from public sources, the selection, compilation, arrangement, presentation, and enrichment of that data within the Service represents substantial original investment and is protectable as a collective work and/or database under applicable law.

Prohibition on Scraping and Automated Access: You agree not to, directly or indirectly:

• Use any robot, spider, scraper, crawler, browser automation tool, headless browser, deep link, or other automated data-gathering or extraction tool, program, algorithm, or methodology to access, acquire, copy, index, monitor, or harvest any content or data from the Service, whether in whole or in part.
• Use any means to systematically download, store, or redistribute content from the Service in bulk.
• Access the Service through any automated means for the purpose of extracting data without our prior written authorization.
• Frame, mirror, or otherwise simulate or reproduce the Service or any portion of it without our express written permission.

Prohibition on Unauthorized Data Reuse: You agree not to:

• Reproduce, republish, redistribute, resell, sublicense, or commercially exploit any data, content, listings, or outputs obtained from the Service without our prior written authorization.
• Use data obtained from the Service to build, train, augment, or populate any competing product, service, database, or application.
• Use data obtained from the Service for any commercial purpose beyond your own personal, internal use, unless you have entered into a separate written licensing agreement with CountyWatch LLC.
• Remove, obscure, or alter any proprietary notices, watermarks, or attribution embedded in data or content from the Service.

Reverse Engineering: You agree not to reverse engineer, decompile, disassemble, or otherwise attempt to derive the source code, database schema, or data architecture of the Service.

Enforcement: Violations of this Section constitute both a breach of contract and, where applicable, a violation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (18 U.S.C. § 1030), the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, and other applicable laws. We reserve the right to pursue all available legal remedies, including injunctive relief and monetary damages. We also reserve the right to immediately suspend or terminate your access to the Service upon detection of scraping or unauthorized data reuse, without prior notice and without refund.

To access certain features of the Service, you may be required to register for an account and provide information such as your name, email address, and specific location data for alert preferences. You agree to provide accurate, current, and complete information during the registration process. You are solely responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account credentials and for all activities that occur under your account. You agree to notify us immediately of any unauthorized use of your account.

If you submit comments, corrections, reports, or other content to the Service ("User Content"), you grant us a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, perpetual, and transferable license to use, reproduce, distribute, prepare derivative works of, and display that User Content in connection with the Service. Furthermore, if you provide us with any ideas, proposals, suggestions, or feedback regarding the Service ("Feedback"), you agree that such Feedback is non-confidential and that we may use it without any restriction or compensation to you.

Accuracy of User Content: We do not verify, endorse, or guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of any User Content submitted to the Service, including corrections or updates to planning data. CountyWatch expressly disclaims all liability arising from any inaccurate, incomplete, misleading, or false User Content submitted by you or any other user. You represent and warrant that any User Content you submit is, to the best of your knowledge, accurate and does not violate the rights of any third party. You agree to indemnify and hold harmless CountyWatch from any claims arising from inaccurate or misleading User Content you submit.

Moderation and Enforcement: We act as a passive conduit for the distribution of User Content and do not pre-screen all posts. However, we reserve the right, at our sole discretion, to monitor, edit, or remove any User Content that violates these Terms or is otherwise objectionable. We reserve the right to suspend or ban members who create an unsafe environment, violate our Acceptable Use Policy, or disrupt the community, without prior warning or refund.

We reserve the right to modify, suspend, or discontinue the Service at any time without notice. We may also change these Terms at any time. We shall not be liable to you or any third party for any modification, suspension, or discontinuation of the Service. Your continued use of the Service following the posting of revised Terms means that you accept and agree to the changes.

We reserve the right to terminate or suspend your access to the Service without cause or notice, at our sole discretion. This includes, but is not limited to, situations where we believe you have violated these Terms (such as the Acceptable Use Policy). Upon termination, your right to use the Service will immediately cease, and any active subscriptions or non-exclusive licenses may be revoked without refund.

Severability: If any provision of these Terms is found to be unenforceable, the remaining provisions shall remain in full force and effect. The unenforceable provision shall be modified to the minimum extent necessary to make it enforceable.

Entire Agreement: These Terms, together with our Privacy Policy, constitute the entire agreement between you and us regarding the Service and supersede all prior agreements and understandings.

We respect the intellectual property rights of others. If you believe that any content on the Service infringes upon your copyright, please provide our Copyright Agent with a written notice containing the following: (a) an electronic or physical signature of the copyright owner or authorized agent; (b) identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed; (c) identification of the material that is claimed to be infringing and where it is located on the Service; (d) your contact information; (e) a statement that you have a good faith belief that the use is not authorized; and (f) a statement under penalty of perjury that the information in your notice is accurate. Contact our Copyright Agent at: alerts@countywatch.co.

If you access the Service via a mobile application downloaded from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store (each an "App Store"): You acknowledge that these Terms are between you and us, not with the App Store provider. We, not the App Store provider, are solely responsible for the Service. The App Store provider has no obligation to furnish any maintenance or support services with respect to the Service. In the event of any failure of the Service to conform to any applicable warranty, you may notify the App Store provider, and they may refund the purchase price for the app to you; to the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, the App Store provider will have no other warranty obligation whatsoever with respect to the Service.

Under California Civil Code Section 1789.3, California users of the Service are entitled to the following specific consumer rights notice: The Complaint Assistance Unit of the Division of Consumer Services of the California Department of Consumer Affairs may be contacted in writing at 1625 North Market Blvd., Suite N 112, Sacramento, CA 95834, or by telephone at (800) 952-5210. You may contact us at alerts@countywatch.co to resolve any complaints regarding the Service.

We shall not be liable for any failure or delay in performing our obligations under these Terms where such failure or delay results from any cause beyond our reasonable control, including but not limited to acts of God, natural disasters, pandemic, epidemic, war, terrorism, civil unrest, government action or regulation, power outages, internet or telecommunications failures, cyberattacks, denial-of-service attacks, failures of third-party service providers or government data portals, or any other event beyond our reasonable control (each a "Force Majeure Event"). In the event of a Force Majeure Event, our obligations under these Terms will be suspended for the duration of the event. We will use commercially reasonable efforts to resume normal operations as quickly as practicable.

By creating an account or using the Service, you agree that CountyWatch LLC may send you marketing and promotional communications by email, including but not limited to newsletters, product updates, feature announcements, promotional offers, and information about new or related services that may be of interest to you ("Marketing Communications"). These Marketing Communications are separate from the transactional service notifications described in Section 5 above.

Opt-Out: You may opt out of receiving Marketing Communications at any time by (a) clicking the "unsubscribe" link included in any marketing email we send you, or (b) contacting us at alerts@countywatch.co with your name, the email address associated with your account, and a request to unsubscribe. Please note that even if you opt out of Marketing Communications, you will continue to receive transactional and service-related emails as described in Section 5 (such as planning proposal alerts you have subscribed to), as these are necessary to provide the Service.

We will process all opt-out requests within ten (10) business days. We will not sell or share your email address with third parties for their own independent marketing purposes without your separate, explicit consent. All Marketing Communications will comply with applicable law, including the CAN-SPAM Act and, where applicable, the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA).