Ohio Rev. Code » Chapter 5571
Ohio Revised Code

Ohio Rev. Code § 5571.14 (2026)

Object bounding township road may be declared public nuisance

✓ current as of May 2026
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Effective:
March 31, 2003
Latest Legislation:
House Bill 513 - 124th General Assembly
PDF:
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(A) A board of township trustees or township highway superintendent may determine that an object bounding any township road and located wholly or in part on the land belonging to the road interferes with snow or ice removal from, the maintenance of, or the proper grading, draining, or dragging of the road, causes the drifting of snow on the road, or in any other manner obstructs or endangers the public travel of the road. The board or superintendent then may declare the object to be a public nuisance and order the owner, agent, or occupant of the land on or bordering upon which the object is maintained to remove it within thirty days. If that person refuses or neglects to comply with the order, the board or superintendent shall have the object removed. The expense incurred in that removal shall be certified to the county auditor and entered on the tax duplicate against that land, to be collected in the same manner as other taxes.

(B)(1) The authority granted in this section is in addition to the authority granted in section 5543.14 of the Revised Code to remove vegetation and the authority granted in section 5547.03 of the Revised Code to remove objects or structures constituting obstructions.

(2) The authority granted in this section applies to land belonging to a township road whether owned in fee simple or by easement.

(3) Objects that may be declared to be a public nuisance under this section include a fence, post, pole, athletic or recreational apparatus, rock, or berm, any vegetation, or any other object identified by the board or superintendent as interfering with or obstructing the township road under division (A) of this section.

(C) The authority granted in this section does not apply to an object that is lawfully entitled to be maintained on land belonging to a township road pursuant to a franchise or other grant of public authority.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 3 cases (2 in the last 5 years), 2016–2026 · leading case: Link v. FirstEnergy Corp. (Slip Opinion), 2016 Ohio 5083 (Ohio 2016).
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Link v. FirstEnergy Corp. (Slip Opinion), 2016 Ohio 5083 (Ohio 2016). · cites it 10× “R.C. 5571.14 authorizes a board of township trustees or township highway superintendent to declare as a public nuisance an object bounding a township road that “obstructs or endangers the public travel” and to order its removal within 30 days.”
Spencer v. Harrison Twp. Bd. of Trs., 2026 Ohio 46 (Ohio Ct. App. 2026). · cites it 13× “The Township passed Resolution 9-2-2024 (Resolution), which found that large rocks located on Appellant’s property were in its right-of-way and constituted a public nuisance under R.C. 5571.14. The Resolution ordered Appellant to remove the rocks within 30 days or the Township…”
Mentor v. Cleveland Elec. Illum. Co., 2024 Ohio 399 (Ohio Ct. App. 2024). “In Link, the Supreme Court found the relevant statute to be R.C. 5571.14, which authorizes a board of township trustees to declare that “an object bounding a township road” to be a public nuisance and order its removal.”
— Ohio Rev. Code § 5571.14(A) — 2 cases
Link v. FirstEnergy Corp. (Slip Opinion), 2016 Ohio 5083 (Ohio 2016). “R.C. 5571.14 authorizes a board of township trustees or township highway superintendent to declare as a public nuisance an object bounding a township road that “obstructs or endangers the public travel” and to order its removal within 30 days.”
Spencer v. Harrison Twp. Bd. of Trs., 2026 Ohio 46 (Ohio Ct. App. 2026). “The Township passed Resolution 9-2-2024 (Resolution), which found that large rocks located on Appellant’s property were in its right-of-way and constituted a public nuisance under R.C. 5571.14. The Resolution ordered Appellant to remove the rocks within 30 days or the Township…”
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