209.01 Nuisance Plants, Refuse, and Surface Water
209.02 Notice Regarding Care of Vacant Lots and Lots with Vacant Building
209.03 Powers of the Commissioner Regarding Vacant Lots
209.04 Powers of the Commissioner Regarding All Other Property
209.05 Costs of Abatement; Liens on Property
209.06 Appeals
209.99 Enforcement; Penalties
Statutory reference:
Destruction of weeds, RC 971.33 et seq.
Notice to cut noxious weeds or remove litter, RC 731.51 et seq.
Destruction of weeds, RC 971.33 et seq.
Notice to cut noxious weeds or remove litter, RC 731.51 et seq.
(a) The following conditions provide harborage and breeding grounds for pests or are otherwise conducive to the creation of human health problems, and are therefore declared to be nuisances which shall be removed or abated from any property on which they are found:
(1) Grass over eight (8) inches in height;
(2) Noxious weeds including Russian, Canadian, common, or musk thistle; shatter cane; Johnsongrass; wild lettuce; wild mustard; wild parsley; wild parsnip; wild carrot; giant hogweed; ragweed; wild plants that can cause skin reaction upon contact or produce or aggravate hay fever, asthma, allergic respiratory reaction, or similar conditions; and all other noxious weeds, including those listed as prohibited noxious weeds in OAC 901:5-37-01, as it may be amended;
(3) Refuse including trash, junk, garbage and food waste, offal, animal wastes, tires, and all other waste materials;
(4) Stagnant surface water.
(b) The owner, operator, or person in possession or control of the property shall remove or otherwise abate any nuisance described in this section.
(c) The Director of Public Health or Commissioner of Environment may post a seventy-two (72) hour notice to abate any nuisance under this section. If the nuisance is not abated within seventy-two (72) hours, the Director of Public Health or Commissioner of Environment may request that the Department of Public Works immediately abate the nuisance without further notice, and bill the owner for the costs of any abatement.
(d) If the nuisance for which the Director of Public Health or Commissioner of Environment has posted a notice to abate is for the nuisance of high grass, noxious weeds, or related overgrowth or brush, or if notice has been posted for the same under Section 3103.09(b)(3), the Director of Public Health or Commissioner of Environment may cause such nuisance to be abated or removed during the remainder of the growing season without further posting of notice. Such notice may be appealed during the remainder of the growing season under Section 209.06.
(e) Noxious weeds shall be abated by removal, by turning under the soil, by destruction through the use of herbicides, or by any other means approved by the Commissioner of Environment.
(Ord. No. 1039-2023. Passed 2-5-24, eff. 2-6-24)
(a) At least annually, the Commissioner of Environment shall cause a notice to be mailed to the last known address of the owner of each vacant parcel of land, or shall publish a notice in a newspaper of general circulation, advising owners, operators, and persons in possession or control of vacant parcels of the requirements of this chapter regarding the care of property.
(b) The Commissioner of Environment may cause a notice to be mailed to the last known address of the owner of each parcel of land on which the main building or structure is vacant, or may publish a notice in a newspaper of general circulation, advising owners, operators and persons in possession or control of parcels of land on which the main building or structure is vacant, of the requirements of this chapter regarding the care of the property. Vacant means that no person actually and legally resides in any part of the building or that no person conducts a lawful business in any part of the building.
(c) The notice shall describe each of the nuisances described in Section 209.01 and shall state that one (1) or more of the following may occur beginning thirty (30) days after the notice is mailed or published:
(1) That, if any nuisances exist and are not removed or otherwise abated, the Department of Parks and Recreation, or its designee, may take any action necessary to abate the nuisance, and that the owner will be billed for all costs of the abatement;
(2) That property nuisances may be ticketed and that the violation is a minor misdemeanor;
(3) That other civil or criminal legal actions may be filed by the Commissioner of Environment to enforce nuisance violations, without additional notice.
(d) The above-described notice may be appealed to the Commissioner of Environment.
(Ord. No. 318-06. Passed 3-20-06, eff. 3-24-06)
Upon the finding of any nuisance described in this chapter on a vacant parcel of land, the Commissioner of Environment may do one (1) or more of the following:
(a) If the nuisance presents an imminent threat to public health, request that the Department of Parks and Recreation immediately abate the nuisance without notice, and bill the owner for the costs of any abatement;
(b) If it is thirty (30) days after the notice described in Section 209.02 is mailed or published, request that the Department of Parks and Recreation abate the nuisance without further notice, and bill the owner for the costs of any abatement;
(c) Order the owner, operator, or person in possession or control of the property to abate the nuisance, giving a time frame for compliance. If the abatement does not occur within the stated time frame or if the action taken does not completely abate the nuisance, the Commissioner may request the Department of Parks and Recreation, or its designee, to abate the nuisance and bill the owner for the costs of any abatement;
(d) Order the owner, operator, or person in possession or control of the property to install and maintain fencing or another similar barrier, in such a manner that the nuisance will be abated or will be kept from re-occurring;
(e) Issue a citation for the violation, under Rule 4.1 of the Ohio Rules of Criminal Procedure;
(f) Pursue any civil or criminal legal actions that may be necessary for the protection of the public health, safety, or welfare.
(Ord. No. 318-06. Passed 3-20-06, eff. 3-24-06)
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