Orangeburg County, SC Property Maintenance: Vacant Lot Maintenance (2026)

Section 9-76 opens Chapter 9's exterior property standards by making the owner of the premises responsible for maintaining structures and exterior property in compliance with the chapter's requirements, except where the code says otherwise. Subsection (c) extends that duty specifically to vacant land: all vacant structures and premises, or vacant land on its own, must be maintained in a clean, safe, secure, and sanitary condition so as not to cause a blighting problem or adversely affect public health or safety. That vacant-lot duty operates alongside Section 9-77(d)'s separate 12 inch cap on weeds and vegetation on occupied or unoccupied lots near a subdivision or dwelling, so an empty parcel can draw a notice of violation either for overgrown vegetation or for a broader blighted, unsecured, or unsanitary condition under Section 9-76(c) even where the growth itself is under 12 inches.

The Community Development Division's code official, created under Section 9-21, enforces the vacant-lot standard the same way as the rest of Chapter 9: a written notice of violation under Section 9-25 describing the condition and a deadline to correct it, followed by prosecution under Section 9-24(c) as a strict liability misdemeanor if the owner does not comply, object, or appeal within that period. Costs the county incurs securing or cleaning up a vacant lot become a lien against the real estate under Section 9-24(d).