(A) No person entitled to the possession of land shall permit the presence of weeds or plant growth in excess of ten inches high or noxious weeds as defined in division (B) of this section, and growing on lands within the city and within 50 feet of an existing residential or commercial use or public right-of-way outside of buildings on said land, after seven day notice to desist from the Director of Public Service or his or her designee.
(B) WEEDS AND PLANT GROWTH shall be defined as all grasses, annual plants and vegetation,
other than trees and shrubs, provided however, that this term shall not include cultivated flowers and gardens. Noxious weeds shall be defined as those weeds listed by the Ohio Director of Agriculture on the noxious weed list established pursuant to R.C. § 907.10.
(C) The Director of Public Service shall cause certificate of mail notice to be served on the owner, lessee, agent, tenant or other person having charge of such land at his or her last known address, notifying him or her that such weeds or other growth must be cut or destroyed within seven days after the mailing of the notice. In the event that the certificate of mail notice is returned undelivered, then notice may be given by publication once in a newspaper of general circulation or posted on the subject property.
(D) In the instance of unoccupied property or vacant land, the Director of Public Service, in lieu of a mailed notice, may post the property by affixing a notice to the building, or a notice may be affixed to a stake, tree or fence. This notice shall contain the date of posting and the location of the property and notification that the weeds or other growth most be cut or destroyed within seven days of the date of posting. If the owner or other person in charge of such lands fails to comply within seven days from the date of the notice, the Director of Public Service shall cause the weeds or plant growth or noxious weeds to be cut and destroyed and may employ or contract for the necessary labor to perform such work or cause it to be done by an appropriate city employee.
(E) Any notice to cut and/or destroy tall weeds and/or grasses shall be deemed notice for all subsequent violations at the subject property, subject to the following conditions:
(1) Upon service of a notice to cut and/or destroy tall weeds/grasses pursuant to division (C) of this section, the subject property shall be included upon a master mowing list of properties unless and until:
(a) The owner and/or other person in control of or responsible for the subject property successfully appeals the notice pursuant to § 156.05 of the Codified Ordinances of the City of Wadsworth such that the notice is dismissed; or
(b) The owner and/or other person in control of or responsible for the subject property maintains the subject property in compliance with division (B) of this section for a period of 120 consecutive days during a growing season.
(c) Upon the satisfaction of division (A) of this section, the property shall be removed from the master mowing list.
(F) The prohibitions described in division (A) and (B) of this section do not apply to public parks, including, but not limited to, those parks owned and/or maintained by the City of Wadsworth.
(G) All expense incurred for cutting and destroying such weeds, plant growth or noxious weeds, together with an administrative charge of $250, shall be billed to the owner of the land, if his or her address is known. If, after 30 days, such amount remains unpaid, the Director of Public Service shall certify the total amount of the expenses and administrative charge, the name of the owner of the land and a sufficient description of the premises to the Clerk of City Council to be certified to the County Auditor, to be entered on the tax duplicate, to be a lien on the land from the date of entry and to be collected as other taxes and assessments and returned to the city pursuant to R.C. § 715.261 or 731.54.
(H) Whoever violates division (A) of this section shall be guilty of a minor misdemeanor and each day of violation shall constitute a separate offense.
(I) The provisions of this section shall be in addition to any other remedies that may be available for the collection of costs incurred pursuant to this section.
(Ord. 00-075, passed 8-1-00; Am. Ord. 08-036, passed 6-18-08; Am. Ord. 23-060, passed 8-1-23)