Zoning & Public Sector
On December 4, 2007, Governor Ted Strickland signed H.B. 50. State Representative Clyde Evans sponsored HB 50, which allows townships to remove junk motor vehicles from public and private property, and to borrow money to pay for removal of junk motor vehicles and other debris from private property.
Old township law authorized townships to regulate the storage but not to undertake the removal of junk motor vehicles within the unincorporated territory of the township. A “junk motor vehicle” was defined as a motor vehicle that is three model years old or older, is apparently inoperable, and is extensively damaged, including, but not limited to, missing wheels, tires, engine, or transmission.
The new law authorizes a board of township trustees to provide, by resolution, for the removal of any vehicle in the unincorporated territory of the township that it determines is a junk motor vehicle–using the same definition of “junk motor vehicle” as is used in the Township Law explained above. If the junk motor vehicle is on public property, the board may provide for its immediate removal; if the junk motor vehicle is on private property, the board may provide for its removal not sooner than 14 days after the board serves written notice of its intention to have the vehicle removed on the owner of the land and any holders of liens of record on the land. This includes any collector’s vehicle that is a junk motor vehicle, subject, however, to the special rules applying to township regulation of collector’s vehicles, which are explained above. (R.C. 505.871(A), (B), (C)(1), (F), and (G)(2).)
For a complete analysis, please click here. Please contact Rayan F. Coutinho at (513) 852-6030 to learn how Wood & Lamping LLP’s Zoning and Public Sector Group can help your municipal corporation or township. We represent numerous communities in the tri-state area in various capacities, including as law directors and external counsel.
admin @ January 6, 2008
