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

Section 546.04(33) of the Youngstown Codified Ordinances, part of the Property Maintenance Code, requires that all vacant structures, the premises around them, and vacant land be maintained in a clean, safe, secure and sanitary condition so the parcel does not create a blighting problem or threaten public health or safety. This sits inside the chapter's broader General Property Maintenance standard, Section 546.04, which separately caps weeds and exterior vegetation at eight inches (item (4)) and bars unreasonable accumulations of trash, rubbish and rat harborage on any premises (items (1) and (5)).

The Code Official in the Department of Code Enforcement and Blight Remediation administers the chapter and must issue a Notice of Violation before penalties attach. Under Section 546.96, a first offense after notice draws a $100 administrative penalty, a second offense within a year draws $500, and a third offense within a year draws $1,000; the City can collect these by certifying them to the Mahoning County Auditor as a lien on the property's tax duplicate under Section 546.97, or by civil suit. Section 546.98 additionally makes any violation of Chapter 546, after the required notice under Section 546.06, a third-degree misdemeanor punishable by up to $500 and 60 days in jail, specifies that completing an administrative appeal is not a prerequisite to criminal prosecution, and declares the chapter a strict-liability offense.

Where the vacant parcel carries a structure rather than just bare land, the owner separately owes an annual vacant-structure registration under Section 546.13, with a $100 fee for a residential structure or $250 for a commercial or industrial one, and that registry section carries its own penalty of up to $50 per day (capped at $1,000) or a third-degree misdemeanor. Section 546.99 lets the City recover the actual cost of any abatement work it performs on the lot from the owner.