Abandoned/Junk Car Ordinance
This ordinance allows the City Police Department to enter any property to inspect abandoned or junked cars. Cars that have been, by definition, abandoned may be seized by the City and moved to a storage area after 48 hours of being abandoned. Within 10 days of moving the vehicle, the City must notify the last known owner of the vehicle by letter or newspaper publication. The owner then has 20 days to pay for storage and towing costs and to retrieve the vehicle. If the owner does not contact the City, the City may auction the vehicle. Junked vehicles on public or private property are deemed a public nuisance unless they are properly hidden from sight in a storage building. Violators of the junked vehicle ordinance will be notified by registered letter of their violation. They will then have 10 days to answer, to remove the vehicle, or request a public hearing. Those found to be in violation after the allotted time or after the public hearing will be required to remove the vehicle or face a misdemeanor fine of up to $200.00. The City may then seize the junked vehicles and sell them to the appropriate salvage facility.
