Greece, NY Property Maintenance: Vacant Lot Maintenance (2026)

Section 157-13, amended August 21, 2025 by Local Law No. 1-2025, lays out five specific duties for vacant and undeveloped land in the Town of Greece. Subsection A requires removal of combustible waste, refuse and large quantities of dry vegetation that, because of their proximity to buildings or structures, would create a fire hazard or contribute to the spread of fire, tracking the New York State Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code. Subsection B goes further, requiring elimination of heavy undergrowth and plant-growth accumulations that are noxious, detrimental to health or safety, or simply unsightly, a standard that reaches ordinary overgrown weeds even without a fire risk.

Subsection C requires that individual undeveloped lots in already-developed areas be maintained, closing a gap for a single empty parcel sitting inside a built-up neighborhood. Subsection D sets a specific buffer distance: where two or more undeveloped lots adjoin one another, and in all other open fields and undeveloped areas, an area of 15 feet must be maintained wherever those areas meet a developed area or a public right-of-way. Subsection E puts the maintenance burden for adjoining public rights-of-way on the owner of the neighboring parcel at all times.

The Building Inspector enforces § 157-13 through the same notice-and-correction process as the rest of Chapter 157: written notice under § 157-18 specifying the violation and a compliance period of at least five days, escalating to emergency action without notice if the condition threatens life, health or safety. A vacant-lot owner who leaves the property uncorrected faces the § 157-20B penalty, a fine of up to $1,000 or imprisonment up to 15 days, or both, with each day of continued violation a separate offense.