Tonawanda, NY Property Maintenance: Vacant Lot Maintenance (2026)
Key Facts
- Applies to
- Every parcel, including vacant/unimproved lots
- Trigger
- Debris/brush/weeds deemed a hazard or nuisance
- Notice period
- 7 days (5 days if repeat within a year)
- Town cleanup cost
- Billed to owner plus $100 surcharge
- Unpaid bill
- Becomes a lien on property taxes
Summary
Owners of every parcel of real property in the Town of Tonawanda, including vacant and unimproved lots, must remove brush, dead weeds, garbage, debris and rubbish once the Code Enforcement Officer determines it is a health, fire or traffic-safety hazard or public nuisance under Code § 108-4B. Chapter 108 applies to any parcel, built on or not, and lets the Town clean up and bill an owner who ignores notice.
Every owner of any parcel of real property located in the Town of Tonawanda shall be responsible for the removal of brush, dead weeds, grass, garbage, debris and rubbish as determined by the Code Enforcement Officer to constitute a health, traffic safety or fire safety hazard or public nuisance. ... If, after the expiration of seven calendar days from the date of service of notice as provided in § 108-7, the owner shall fail to comply with the requirements of § 108-4 of this chapter, the Code Enforcement Officer, his or her designee or any contractor hired by him or her, shall have the power to enter upon the parcel of real property in violation to cut, trim, or otherwise remove all such grass, weeds and uncultivated vegetation in excess of 10 inches, or the accumulation of brush, dead weeds, grass, garbage, debris and rubbish, which are determined to violate the provisions of this chapter.
Full Breakdown
Section 108-3 makes Chapter 108 apply to 'every owner of any parcel of real property' in the Town of Tonawanda outside the Village of Kenmore, language that reaches raw, unimproved and vacant lots as well as built lots. Section 108-4B puts the removal duty squarely on the owner: brush, dead weeds, grass, garbage, debris and rubbish must go once the Code Enforcement Officer decides the accumulation is a health, fire-safety, traffic-safety hazard or public nuisance, independent of the separate 10-inch grass-height rule in § 108-4A.
Two narrow carve-outs in § 108-4C exempt designated open space, wetlands and conservation easements meant to stay natural, and rights-of-way bordering land owned by another government. Enforcement follows the same notice track used for overgrown grass: § 108-7 requires written notice giving the owner seven calendar days to clear the lot, cut to five days for a repeat notice on the same parcel within a year, and § 108-8 makes a continued failure itself a violation. If the deadline passes, § 108-9A authorizes the Code Enforcement Officer, a designee, or a Town-hired contractor to enter the lot and remove the debris directly; the owner is billed for the labor, machinery and material cost plus a $100 administrative surcharge, and an unpaid bill becomes a lien collected with the property's taxes.
Violations & Fines
Ignoring a cleanup notice past its seven-day (or five-day repeat) deadline is a violation under § 108-8, and a general offense against the chapter carries a fine of up to $250 or up to 15 days' imprisonment under § 108-10, with each continuing day a separate offense. The Town's cleanup cost plus a $100 surcharge becomes a tax lien on the lot if unpaid within 30 days.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to clean up a vacant lot I own in the Town of Tonawanda even though nothing is built on it?
What happens if I don't clear the lot after getting a notice?
Is an unpaid cleanup bill just forgotten?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Tonawanda
New York rules heatmap·Compare Tonawanda to another location·View the New York property maintenance overview
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How other cities in Erie County handle vacant lot maintenance.