Westerville, OH Landscaping Rules: Weed Ordinances (2026)

Section 715.261 | Recovering total cost of correcting hazardous condition of building or abating nuisance.

(A) As used in this section:

(1) "Total cost" means any costs incurred due to the use of employees, materials, or equipment of the municipal corporation or its agent pursuant to division (E) of this section, any costs arising out of contracts for labor, materials, or equipment, and costs of service of notice or publication required under this section.

(2) "Abatement activity" means each instance of any of the following:

(a) Removing, repairing, or securing insecure, unsafe, structurally defective, abandoned, deserted, or open and vacant buildings or other structures;

(b) Making emergency corrections of hazardous conditions;

(c) Abatement of any nuisance by a municipal corporation or its agent pursuant to division (E) of this section.

(B) A municipal corporation or its agent pursuant to division (E) of this section may collect the total cost of abatement activities by any of the methods prescribed in division (B)(1), (2), or (3) of this section.

(1) For each abatement activity in which costs are incurred, the clerk of the legislative authority of the municipal corporation or its agent pursuant to division (E) of this section may certify the total costs of each abatement activity, together with the parcel number or another proper description of the lands on which the abatement activity occurred, the date the costs were incurred for each abatement activity, and the name of the owner of record at the time the costs were incurred for each abatement activity, to the county auditor who shall place the costs as a charge upon the tax list and duplicate. The costs are a lien upon such lands from and after the date the costs were incurred.

(E) A municipal corporation may enter into an agreement with a county land reutilization corporation organized under Chapter 1724. of the Revised Code wherein the county land reutilization corporation agrees to act as the agent of the municipal corporation in connection with removing, repairing, or securing insecure, unsafe, structurally defective, abandoned, deserted, or open and vacant buildings or other structures, making emergency corrections of hazardous conditions, or abating any nuisance, including high weeds, overgrown brush, and trash and debris from vacant lots.