In unincorporated Charleston County, weeds, rank vegetation, or accumulated solid waste left on a lot may be declared a public nuisance by a county code enforcement officer, who can then order abatement at the owner's cost.
Charleston County Code Sec. 10-4 lets any duly appointed county code enforcement officer deem accumulated weeds, rank vegetation, or solid waste on a residential or commercial lot to be a public nuisance detrimental to community health and welfare, even without a health-department hazard finding. Sec. 10-2 makes it unlawful for an owner to permit such growth or accumulation, and a lot once improved may not be allowed to revert to unimproved status. Owners inside Charleston city, North Charleston, or Mount Pleasant follow their own city blight codes; this county rule governs only the unincorporated Lowcountry and sea islands.
A nuisance can be abated by the county with the cost becoming a lien on the property; failure to comply after notice is a misdemeanor, up to $500 fine or 30 days.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
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See how Charleston County's property blight rules stack up against other locations.
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