Columbus, IN Property Maintenance: Vacant Lot Maintenance (2026)

Columbus, Indiana handles overgrown vacant land through Chapter 8.32 of the Columbus Municipal Code, Removal of Weeds and Rank Vegetation. The chapter does not single out vacant or unimproved lots. It declares weeds and rank vegetation growing on real property within the city a public nuisance and puts the cutting duty on the owner, so a vacant parcel falls under the same procedure as any other lot. The City Garage Department administers the chapter at the direction of the Board of Public Works and Safety.

The process starts under § 8.32.030 with a written notice to the owner giving five calendar days to abate. If the owner corrects the violation within five days, no further action is taken and no penalty is imposed. A continuous abatement notice goes out with the first notice: each later violation in the same year can be abated by the city or its contractors without further notice, after the Department obtains Board of Public Works and Safety approval. Service is by certified mail with return receipt requested, by registered mail, or by personal service by a city law enforcement officer, and the Department also serves the notice by a method required under Indiana Code 1-1-7-1(b).

An owner who wants to contest the notice must send a written letter to both the City Garage Department and the Board of Public Works and Safety by close of business on the fifth day after service. The Board hears the appeal at its next scheduled meeting, and an owner who does not appear has the appeal denied.

If the owner neither corrects the problem nor appeals, § 8.32.040 lets the Board direct the Department to cut and remove the vegetation. The city controller issues a certified statement of costs, including administration, notice, and removal costs, payable within ten days of delivery. Unpaid costs are filed with the Bartholomew County Auditor and recorded with the County Recorder, and the auditor places the amount on the tax duplicate as a lien collected like taxes. A cost appeal is due by close of business on the tenth day after service of the statement.