(a) No person shall leave any vehicle continuously parked on any street, road, highway, thoroughfare, alley, or municipal parking lot within the Charles Town parking district (including all parking zones established therein), as specified in Sections 365.01 and 365.02, with or without a valid parking permit, for a period of more than seventy-two (72) consecutive hours. Violation of this subsection (a) shall subject the vehicle to fines and impoundment at the owner's expense pursuant to Section 303.07(1).
(b) No person shall leave any vehicle continuously parked on any street, road, highway, thoroughfare, alley, any other City property or right-a-way within the Charles Town city limits but outside the Charles Town parking district, with or without a valid parking permit, for a period of more than five (5) consecutive days. Any vehicle parked in violation of this subsection (b) for a period of more than five (5) consecutive days shall be deemed and considered an "abandoned motor vehicle," as such term is defined in West Virginia Code Section 17-24A-1(3), for the purposes of Section 303.07(b) and West Virginia Code Section 17-24A-3 and shall be subject to fines and impoundment at the owner's expense pursuant to such provisions.
(c) In the event any police officer observes, or any member of the public certifies to a police officer, that a vehicle appears to have been parked in violation of either of subsection (a) or (b) above, the police officer shall place upon the vehicle a written notice that: (i) the vehicle is believed to have been parked in violation of the relevant subsection, as specified; (ii) that the vehicle is subject to impoundment if not moved within the period of the next consecutive seventy-two (72) hours, in the case of an apparent violation of subsection (a), or the next consecutive one hundred twenty hours (120), in the case of an apparent violation of subsection (b); and (iii) the owner or operator of the vehicle should contact the Charles Town Police Department prior to expiration of the specified period for moving the vehicle. Failure of the owner or operator to move the vehicle prior to expiration of the specified period may result in its impoundment.
(d) Exceptions to this section; to facilitate demolition, construction, repair, or similar operations, must be requested in writing not less than seven (7) days prior to the start of the requested exception period. The approval authority for the aforementioned exception shall be both the City Manager or designated representative and the Charles Town Police Chief or designated representative. The maximum time period for an approved exception to this section is seven (7) days, which may be renewed at the discretion of the approval authority. Exception requests under this section that include paid parking spaces will be subject to parking rates per Article 365.03.
(Ord. 2021-007. Passed 10-12-21.)