Newark, OH Property Maintenance: Vacant Lot Maintenance (2026)

Section 678.01 of the Newark Code of Ordinances applies to "any lot or land" within the City, so it reaches vacant and unimproved parcels as well as built lots. It says no owner, lessee, agent or tenant having charge of the land shall permit weeds or litter of any kind to grow upon or accumulate on it, and it declares any growth of weeds or accumulation of litter a nuisance. The violation is a minor misdemeanor under Section 698.02. The ordinance was Ord. 80-34, passed April 21, 1980, by the Newark City Council.

Section 678.02(a) defines litter broadly: garbage, waste, peelings of vegetables or fruits, rubbish, ashes, cans, bottles, wire, paper, cartons, boxes, parts of automobiles, wagons, furniture, glass, oil of an unsightly or unsanitary nature, or anything else of an unsightly or unsanitary nature. On a finding by Council that litter has been placed on lands in the City, has not been removed and is a detriment to public health, Council serves a written notice on the owner, and on any different lessee, agent or tenant in charge, that the litter must be collected and removed within fifteen days after service. Noxious weeds get a shorter clock of five days.

Section 678.03 is the enforcement step that matters for absentee owners of vacant land. When the notice is not obeyed, Council causes the weeds to be cut and destroyed or the litter removed and can employ the necessary labor. Council then makes a written return to the County Auditor with the charges for its services, the amount paid for labor, the fees of the officers who served the notice and a description of the premises. Those amounts are entered on the tax duplicate, become a lien on the land from the date of the entry and are collected as other taxes. Section 678.04 assigns complaints to the Division of Code Administration.