Summit County, OH Property Maintenance: Vacant Lot Maintenance (2026)

87, Abatement, Control, or Removal of Vegetation, Garbage, Refuse, and Other Debris, is the state statute that lets a township's board of trustees, the body with zoning and nuisance authority over unincorporated land in Summit County, clean up a vacant or neglected lot at the owner's expense. Subsection (A) authorizes the board to abate, control or remove vegetation, garbage, refuse and other debris from land in the township once it determines the owner's maintenance of that condition constitutes a nuisance. Before acting, subsection (B) requires at least seven days' written notice to the owner and any lienholders of record, sent by certified mail if the owner's address is known, or served by posting a dated photograph of the notice on the property's principal structure; if the address is unknown, the board can instead publish notice once in a local newspaper, on the state's official public notice website, or on the township's own website or social media account.

Subsection (C) shortens that window to four days if the same owner's land triggers a second nuisance finding within twelve months, reflecting a repeat-offender track. Subsection (D) lets the owner or a lienholder step in and perform the cleanup themselves under an agreement with the board before the deadline runs. If the deadline passes without compliance or an agreement, subsection (E) lets the board hire the labor, materials and equipment needed, paying from the township's general fund or, for costs over $500, by borrowing from a financial institution.

Subsection (F) requires the board to report the action to the county auditor with a full cost breakdown, after which the county auditor places the costs on the tax duplicate as a lien on the land from the date of entry, collected and returned to the township like any other property tax.