Ohio Rev. Code » Chapter 5547
Ohio Revised Code

Ohio Rev. Code § 5547.03 (2026)

Removal of structures constituting obstructions or interference

✓ current as of May 2026
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Effective:
October 1, 1953
Latest Legislation:
House Bill 1 - 100th General Assembly
PDF:
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All persons, partnerships, and corporations using or occupying any part of a highway, bridge, or culvert with telegraph or telephone lines, steam, electrical, or industrial railways, oil, gas, water, or other pipes, mains, conduits, or any object or structure, other than by virtue of a franchise legally granted, shall remove from the bounds of such highway, bridge, or culvert, their poles and wires connected therewith, or any and all tracks, switches, spurs, or oil, gas, or water pipes, mains, conduits, or other objects or structures when, in the opinion of the board of county commissioners, they constitute obstructions in any highway, other than the state highway system; or the bridges or culverts thereon, or interfere or may interfere with the proposed improvement of such highways, bridges, or culverts or the use thereof by the traveling public. By obtaining the consent and approval of the board, such persons, partnerships, and corporations may relocate their properties within the bounds of such highways, bridges, or culverts in such manner as the board prescribes. The giving of such consent and approval by the board does not grant any franchise rights.

Persons, partnerships, or corporations occupying any part of a highway, bridge, or culvert, under and by virtue of a franchise legally granted, shall relocate their properties within the bounds of such highway, bridges, or culverts when in the opinion of the county engineer, they constitute obstructions or interfere with the construction, improvement, maintenance, or repair of such highways, bridges, or culverts, or the use thereof by the traveling public.

If, in the opinion of the engineer, such persons, partnerships, or companies have obstructed any such highway, bridges, or culverts, or if any of their properties are, in his opinion, so located that they do or may interfere with the proposed improvement, maintenance, or repair the board shall notify such person, partnership, or corporation directing the removal or relocation of the obstruction or property, and, if they do not within five days proceed to so remove or relocate and complete the removal or relocation within a reasonable time, the board may do so by employing the necessary labor. The expense incurred shall be paid in the first instance out of any moneys available for highway purposes, and not encumbered for any other purpose, and the amount shall be certified to the proper officials to be placed on the tax duplicate against the property of such person, partnership, or corporation, to be collected as other taxes and in one payment, and the proper fund shall be reimbursed out of the money so collected, or the account thereof may be collected from such person, partnership, or corporation by civil action by the state on the relation of the board.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 4 cases, 1956–2016 · leading case: Toledo Edison Co. v. Bd. of Defiance Cty. Commrs., 2013 Ohio 5374 (Ohio Ct. App. 2013).
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Toledo Edison Co. v. Bd. of Defiance Cty. Commrs., 2013 Ohio 5374 (Ohio Ct. App. 2013). · cites it 39× “12-01-058 ordering plaintiff-appellee, The Toledo Edison Company (“Toledo Edison”), to remove and relocate several of its utility poles located within the county-owned rights-of-way1 along Harding and Bend Roads in Defiance County, Ohio pursuant to R.C. 5547.03. For the reasons…”
Link v. FirstEnergy Corp. (Slip Opinion), 2016 Ohio 5083 (Ohio 2016). · cites it 2× “) (board of county commissioners may order removal of utility poles along county right-of- way pursuant to resolution under R.C. 5547.03). {¶ 33} Instead of initiating legal proceedings requiring CEI and FirstEnergy to move their utility poles, however, the board decided to…”
St. Albans Twp. Bd. of Trs. v. Columbia Gas Transmission Corp., 688 N.E.2d 48 (Ohio Ct. App. 1997). “” See R.C. 5547.03 and 5547.04. The fallacy with these arguments is that the defendant is doing none of the above.”
Shaner v. Bahns, 141 N.E.2d 303 (Ohio Ct. App. 1956). · cites it 3× “or review are the result of action taken by the defendants-appellees as the County Commissioners and County Engineer of Greene County in notifying and requiring plaintiff- *423 appellant to remove a certain advertising sign from his property for the claimed reason that the sign…”
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