(A) City Council finds that there is a significant risk to the health and safety of the community from vehicles that emit excessive visible pollutants resulting from defects or inadequate repairs and maintenance. City Council finds that some of these vehicles enter the city from outlying areas that do not sufficiently test vehicles or regulate vehicle pollution. Vehicle pollution is a matter of unique local concern in Albuquerque, in part, because of the high traffic volume in comparison with the rest of the State of New Mexico.
(B) Visible pollution from inadequately maintained vehicles and vehicles that have not undergone emissions testing is a nuisance that must be abated. Drivers who fail or refuse to repair or replace these vehicles exacerbate the nuisance and will be deterred only by an incremental enforcement approach that begins with warnings, progresses to fines and ends with immobilization or forfeiture.
(C) City Council finds that a reasonable person can observe a vehicle and determine if the vehicle is emitting excessive visible exhaust in comparison to other vehicles on the road.
(Ord. 40-2005)