Toledo, OH Landscaping Rules: Weed Ordinances (2026)

Toledo Municipal Code Chapter 955, Removal of Weeds, declares four categories of conditions a nuisance on any lot in the city: grass over eight inches in height; a named list of noxious plants including Russian, Canadian, Musk and common thistle, wild lettuce, wild mustard, wild parsnip, ragweed, poison hemlock, wild carrot, ox-eye daisy, purple loosestrife, cressleaf groundsel, mile-a-minute weed, shatter cane, johnsongrass and grapevines; accumulated refuse such as trash, junk, garbage, food waste, offal, animal waste and tires; and stagnant surface water. 01(b), the owner, operator, or person in possession or control of the property must remove or abate the nuisance, and noxious weeds specifically must be abated by removal, tilling under, herbicide, or another method the Director of Inspection approves.

02: once the Director determines weeds or grass are growing and about to spread or go to seed, notice goes out by mail to the owner's last known address or by publication once a week for two consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation, and the owner has five days after the second publication to cut and destroy the growth. 04 lets the City recover the full cost, including inspection, records research, notification and billing fees, either as a direct bill or as a special assessment certified to the Lucas County Auditor and collected on the property tax duplicate as a lien.

This chapter applies equally to vacant, unimproved lots, which is cross-referenced directly from Toledo's litter chapter (963) as the controlling weeds provision for vacant land.