(a) No person shall park, store, leave or permit the parking, storing or leaving of any abandoned property or wrecked or inoperable motor vehicle of any kind, whether attended or not, upon any private property within the City, except that, with respect to an inoperable motor vehicle, such vehicle may be parked, stored, or left on said property for a period of time not to exceed ten (10) days, as set forth in subparagraph (c) of this section. The presence of such vehicles, or parts thereof, on private property is hereby declared a public nuisance which may be abated in accordance with provisions of this Article.
(b) This section shall not apply to:
(1) Any motor vehicle which is completely enclosed within a building, or unless it is held in connection with a business enterprise lawfully licensed by the City for the servicing and repair of such vehicles and properly operated in an appropriate business zone pursuant to the zoning ordinances of the City;
(2) Nor shall this section apply to any antique or collector vehicle which is registered with the State of Florida, pursuant to Florida Statutes, Section 320.086. However, no more than two (2) antique motor vehicles may be retained by the same owner for collection purposes unless they are appropriately stored.
(c) Whenever the enforcement officer of the City shall ascertain that an article or articles of abandoned property are present on private property within the limits of the City of Boynton Beach in violation of the provisions of this article, the enforcement officer shall cause a notice to be placed upon such article in substantially the following form:
NOTICE TO THE OWNER AND ALL PERSONS INTERESTED IN THE ATTACHED PROPERTY. This property, to wit: (setting forth brief description) located at (setting forth brief description of location) is improperly stored and is in violation of (setting forth ordinance or regulation violated) and must be removed within ten (10) days from the date of this notice unless a hearing has been demanded in accordance with the terms of Chapter 10, Article I, Boynton Beach Code of Ordinances within ten (10) days of the date of this notice; otherwise, it shall be presumed to be abandoned property and will be removed and destroyed by order of the City of Boynton Beach and the owner will be liable for the costs of removal and destruction. Dated this: (setting forth date of posting of notice). Signed: (setting forth name, title, address, telephone number of enforcement officer).
Such notice shall be not less than eight (8) inches by ten (10) inches and shall be sufficiently weatherproof to withstand normal exposure to the elements for a period of ten (10) days. In addition to posting the notice, on or before the date of posting the enforcement officer shall mail a copy of the Notice to the Owner of the real property upon which the abandoned articles are located, as shown by the real estate tax records used by the City of Boynton Beach, and if the abandoned property is a motor vehicle or boat, shall make a reasonable effort to ascertain the name and address of the owner and shall mail a copy of a notice to such owner. The notice shall also advise the person to whom the notices are applicable that they have seven (7) days from the date of posting and/or mailing of the notice to correct the condition or file a written petition with the City Manager or the designee for a hearing as provided in Section 10-7 of the City's Code of Ordinances, which hearing shall be held no later than ten (10) days after the date the petition is received by the City Manager.
(d) Procedures:
(1) Hearing. The issues to be determined at the said hearing are whether the conditions creating a nuisance, do in fact exist; why the conditions should not be abated by the City at the expense of the owner; the time limits for such abatement. The source of the condition shall not be a defense against the requirement that the condition shall be abated by the owner. If after a hearing the board determines that the conditions which exist on the property constitute a public nuisance, the owner or owners of the property shall have no more than seven (7) days from the date of the hearing to correct or remove the conditions, after such time, the City shall have the right to have the conditions abated at the expense of the property owner.
(2) Removal. If the owner or other interested person has not requested a hearing within seven (7) days, the City shall have the right to have the objectionable condition corrected or removed at the expense of the owner. If the City has the condition abated and payment for the City's abatement costs is not received within thirty (30) days after the filing of a notice of assessment for the cost of such work together with all costs of inspection and administration, the City shall have a lien placed against the property for the cost of the work, including inspection and administration cost, plus interest at the rate of eight per cent (8%) per annum, plus reasonable attorney fees and other costs of collecting said sums without further hearing. If, at the end of seven (7) days after posting or mailing such notice, the owner or any person interested in the abandoned article or articles describing such notice has not removed the article or articles and complied with the ordinance or regulations cited in the Notice, the enforcement officer may cause the article or articles of abandoned property to be removed or destroyed. The salvage value, if any, of such article or articles shall be retained by the local government to be applied against the cost of removal and destruction thereof, unless the cost of removal and destruction are paid by the owner.
The owner of any abandoned motor vehicle or the owner of the real property upon which the vehicles or other abandoned property is located, who after notice is provided in this Article, does not remove the vehicle or other property within the specified period then they shall be liable to the City of Boynton Beach for all costs of removal and destruction of such property, less any salvage value received by the local government. Upon such removal and destruction, the local government officer shall notify the owner of the amount owed and of the penalty provision of the section.
(3) Notification of removal to owner and other interested parties. The enforcement officer, after taking possession of any motor vehicle pursuant to this Article, shall furnish notice in accordance with this section by certified mail (return receipt requested) to the last known registered owner of the motor vehicle at his last known address within fifteen (15) days of the date of which possession of the motor vehicle is taken, with a copy of the notice to the owner or occupant of the property from which the vehicle is taken.
The enforcement officer shall also contact the Department of Motor Vehicles, State of Florida, and such other agencies and departments of government in this and other states as are reasonably necessary to ascertain the names and addresses of other persons with record interests in the motor vehicle, including lien holders. Such other persons shall be given notice in the same manner as stated in the previous section.
Notice under this section shall contain the following information:
a. Year, make, model, and serial number of the motor vehicle.
b. The name and address of the last known registered owner of the motor vehicle, if available.
c. The vehicle registration number and the title registration number of the motor vehicle if available.
d. The date on which the motor vehicle was removed.
e. The location from which the motor vehicle was removed.
f. The location in which the motor vehicle is being stored or in the alternative a number to contact.
The notice shall also advise the persons to whom it is given that the person who is entitled to possession of the motor vehicle may reclaim it upon payment to the City of all charges incurred by the City and the removal and storage of the motor vehicle, except that if such reclamation is not made within twenty (20) days after date of the notice, the right to reclaim the motor vehicle as well as all right, title and interest of said person in the vehicle, shall be deemed to be waived and that such person shall be deemed to have consented to the disposition of the motor vehicle by the City.
If the City is unable to identify properly the last registered owner of any motor vehicle or if unable to obtain with reasonable certainty the names and addresses of the owner or other interested parties, including lienholders, it shall be sufficient notice under this section to publish the notice once in one newspaper of general circulation in the City of Boynton Beach. Such notice by publication may contain multiple listings of motor vehicles.
A copy of any notice required in this section, as well as a copy of any certificate of sale issuehereunder by the City or its designee shall be forwarded to the Division of Motor Vehicles, State of Florida.
(Ord. No. 87-2, § 2, 2-3-87; Ord. No. 02-033, § 1, 8-20-02; Ord. No. 04-030, § 2, 5-18-04; Ord. No. 14-001, § 2, 2-4-14)