To enact section 5571.18 of the Revised Code to authorize a board of township trustees to order township workers to enter upon land in order to remove vegetation that blocks or otherwise interferes with the sight lines of motorists traveling on township roads.

Section 1. That section 5571.18 of the Revised Code be enacted to read as follows:

Sec. 5571.18. (A) If a board of township trustees determines upon the basis of evidence submitted by the county engineer that, at a particular location, vegetation located on land that is located on a township road constitutes a clear and present danger to the safety of traveling public, which may include pedestrians, because the vegetation blocks or otherwise interferes with the sight lines of operators of motor vehicles traveling on that township road, the board shall send a written notice to the owner of that land informing the owner of that fact and also particularly describing the vegetation at issue. The notice shall direct the owner to remove that vegetation forthwith, but in no case later than fifteen days after the date of the notice. The notice further shall inform the owner that if the owner does not remove the vegetation at issue within that fifteen-day period, the board shall cause the vegetation to be removed and the owner shall be liable for all costs of the removal.

(B) If a board issues a notice to the owner of the land pursuant to division (A) of this section and the owner does not remove the vegetation described in the notice in a timely manner, the board shall issue an order directing that employees of the township enter upon the land and remove the vegetation at issue. The board shall give notice of the proposed entry to the owner and the person in possession of the land, if such person is not the owner, by such means as are reasonably available not less than three days but not more than seven days prior to the date of such entry. The township employees shall enter upon the land and shall remove the vegetation at issue and nothing more, and such entry does not constitute a trespass.

(C) The board of township trustees shall make a written report to the county auditor of the board's action under this section. The board shall include in the report a proper description of the premises and a statement of all expenses the township incurred in having township employees remove the vegetation at issue, including any costs incurred in providing the required notice and the amount the township paid for labor, materials, fuel, and equipment. The expenses incurred shall be entered upon the tax duplicate and are a lien upon the land from the date of the entry. They shall be collected as taxes are collected and shall be returned to the township and placed in the township general fund.

(D) The board shall make restitution or reimbursement for any actual damage done to the land or to improvements or personal property located on such land by the township employees that is not incidental to the removal of the vegetation. If the township and owner of the land are unable to agree upon restitution or other settlement, damages are recoverable by civil action to which the township hereby consents, except that the value of the vegetation removed is not recoverable.