(A) Inoperable motor vehicles on private property are hereby declared a nuisance.
(B) Whenever a police officer discovers an inoperable motor vehicle on private property, the officer shall determine the owner of record of the property, and if the vehicle has a license plate, the owner of the vehicle. The officer shall attempt to determine the identity of persons occupying the property if different from the owner of record. The officer shall cause a notice in substantially the following form to be mailed, by Certified U.S. Mail, return receipt requested, or by personal delivery to the owner of record of the property, and to all persons known to the officer, after reasonable investigation, to occupy the property, and also to the owner of the motor vehicle, if the owner is known:
NOTICE TO REMOVE OR REPAIR INOPERABLE MOTOR VEHICLE
PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that the Police Department of the Village of Chatham, Illinois, has determined that there exists an inoperable motor vehicle, generally described as follows and hereinafter referred to as “The Vehicle”:
Make: ____________________
Model: ____________________
Model Year, if known: ____________________
Color: ____________________
License No., if known: ____________________ State: ____________________
Other identifying characteristics: _______________________________________________________
The Vehicle is currently located on the following property:
Address: __________________________________________________________________________
The Vehicle is in violation of Chapter 99 of the Village of Chatham Code of Ordinances, which prohibits inoperable motor vehicles on private property within the corporate limits of the Village.
You are hereby ordered to remove or repair such inoperable vehicle within seven calendar days from the date of service of this Notice, if it has been hand-delivered, or within eleven calendar days from the date of mailing of this notice, if it was mailed by certified mail.
The Chatham Code of Ordinances provides that any person violating its provisions is subject to a fine of not less than $250.00 nor more than $750.00 for each day a violation is allowed to continue. If the Village must prosecute you for having an inoperable motor vehicle, it may seek fines beginning from the date of this Notice.
If you fail to remove or repair the inoperable motor vehicle by the date set forth in this notice, the Village may remove the inoperable vehicle, or may hire someone to do so. Any person ordered to repair or remove an inoperable vehicle may have a hearing with the Chief of Police. A request for a hearing must be made in writing and delivered to the Municipal Clerk no later than seven days after the date of service of this notice, if served personally; or eleven days after the date of mailing of this notice, if it was mailed. If no hearing is requested, or if the Chief determines after the hearing that the vehicle is indeed inoperable, the vehicle may be towed without further notice.
Definitions: As used in this notice, “inoperable motor vehicle” means any motor vehicle from which, for a period of at least seven days, the engine, wheels, tires, or other parts have been removed, or on which the engine, wheels, or other parts have been altered, damaged, or otherwise so treated that the vehicle is incapable of being driven under its own motor power. “Inoperable motor vehicle” shall not include a motor vehicle which has been rendered temporarily incapable of being driven under its own motor power in order to perform ordinary service or repair operations nor to any motor vehicle that is kept within a building when not in use, nor to any operable historic vehicles over twenty-five years of age, nor to a motor vehicle on the premises lawfully engaged in the wrecking and junking of motor vehicles.
“Repair” means to take such action as is required to make an inoperable motor vehicle capable of being driven under its own power.
This Notice is dated this __________ day of _______________, 200__.
____________________________________________
Signature
(C) Notice by certified mail pursuant to this section shall be accomplished if the village receives a return receipt from the addressee or if the certified or regular mailing is returned “unclaimed” or “refused”.
(D) In the event that a violation of § 99.02 and this section is not corrected within the time specified in the notice, or if there is a hearing, within five days after the hearing, the Police Department may proceed to tow and dispose of the inoperable motor vehicle in accordance with the procedures set forth in 625 ILCS 5/4-201 et seq. of the Illinois Vehicle Code, which is herein incorporated by reference.
(Ord. 01-69, passed 11-13-01; Am. Ord. 03-08, passed 1-28-03) Penalty, see § 99.99