(A) Definitions. For the purpose of this section, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
ABANDONED VEHICLE. Any motor vehicle to which the last registered owner of record thereof has relinquished all further domain and control. Any vehicle which is wrecked or partially wrecked or dismantled or inoperable for a period of seven days shall in such case constitute a prima facie presumption that the last registered owner thereof has abandoned such vehicle, regardless of whether the physical possession of such vehicle remains in the technical custody or control of such owner.
ANTIQUE VEHICLE. Any vehicle currently registered with the state as an antique vehicle.
OWNER. Any person who, alone or jointly or severally with others shall have:
(a) Record legal title to any property or structure thereon, with or without accompanying actual possession thereof; or
(b) Charge, care or control of any property or structure thereon as owner or agent of the owner, or as executor, executrix, administrator, administratrix, trustee or guardian of the estate of the owner.
PREMISES. A lot, plot or parcel of land, including unenclosed structures located thereon.
PROPERTY. Any real property within the city which is not a street or highway.
SPECIAL INTEREST VEHICLE. Any vehicle currently registered with the state as a special interest vehicle.
VEHICLE. A machine propelled by power other than human power and designated to travel along the ground by use of wheels, treads, runners or slides and which transports persons or property or pulls machinery and shall include without limitation an automobile, truck, trailer, motorcycle, tractor, buggy and wagon.
(B) Prohibition.
(1) Except as provided in this section, it shall be unlawful to permit rusted, wrecked, junked, partially dismantled, inoperative or abandoned vehicles to be parked, stored or left on any private property within the city for a period in excess of seven days unless such vehicle is completely enclosed within a building or unless the vehicle is so stored or parked on private property for the purpose of repair or licensing by a duly licensed business or commercial enterprise operated and conducted pursuant to law, and then such vehicle may be parked or stored for only the time necessary to effect the repair or licensing. In no case will such time for repair or licensing exceed 30 days. The building will conform to the building and zoning requirements of the particular district in which it is located. Any one of the following conditions shall raise the presumption that a vehicle is junked, wrecked or inoperable:
(a) Absence of a current registration plate upon the vehicle;
(b) Placement of the vehicle or parts thereof upon jacks, blocks or other supports; or
(c) Absence of one or more parts of the vehicle necessary for the lawful operation of the vehicle upon the street or highway.
(2) A motor vehicle may be parked outside of an enclosed structure only if the following conditions are met:
(a) The vehicle has a current and valid registration and license;
(b) The vehicle is parked on a hard surface. For purposes of this section, a HARD SURFACE is defined as a paved hard surface driveway, paved pad or gravel driveway, with dimensions of not less than ten feet by 20 feet, or if graveled, a gravel depth of not less than three inches;
(c) The vehicle is parked on private property, but not within two feet of the property line; and
(d) Antique vehicle storage is addressed separately.
(C) Antique or special interest vehicle. An antique or special interest vehicle kept or maintained on private property as an abandoned vehicle shall be subject to the provisions of this section and considered to be an abandoned vehicle unless the owner or collector thereof shall:
(1) Completely enclose such vehicle within a lawful and aesthetically pleasing wood, brick or stone fence so as not to be visible from the main-traveled way of any adjoining street or highway; and
(2) Keep and maintain such vehicle on blocks or racks with at least 18 inches of clearance between the bottom of the vehicle and the ground so as to prevent rodent harborage and breeding.
(D) Right to enter premises. For the purposes of carrying out the provisions of this section, the Chief of Police, a police officer or a community service technician, is authorized, with the permission of the owner, tenant, agent, lessee or occupant, to enter into or upon any premises or establishment for the purpose of making a thorough examination and to determine whether a violation exists. If such permission is denied and a further examination of the property is required to substantiate a violation, it will be necessary for the Police Department to obtain an administrative search warrant. A lack of consent does not itself bar all police observation from a vantage point which the law enforcement official was legally entitled to be.
(E) Notice of violation.
(1) Notice requiring the removal of abandoned, junked or dismantled vehicles from private property is to be made to the landowner or person in lawful possession of the property upon which such vehicle is located, and the last known registered owner of any vehicle which is in violation of this section, advising them that the motor vehicle violates provisions of this section and directing that the vehicle be moved to a place of lawful storage within ten days or that within ten days the vehicle is to be housed within a building. An attempt to serve written notice upon the registered owner of the vehicle by mail addressed to the owner at the last known address of record listed at the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles is to be made, as well as an attempt to serve written notice upon the landowner of record upon whose land such vehicle is located.
(2) Notice of violation shall be served by certified mail, or in person, to the owner of the real property where the property is located and the last registered owner of the vehicle at the address of record listed at the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles.
(F) Abatement of the city.
(1) Upon the failure of the person upon whom notice to abate a violation was served pursuant to the provisions of this section to abate such violation, in addition to the remedy of prosecution and enforcement as provided in the nuisance ordinance, the Chief of Police or the Chief’s designated representative, or other duly designated officer of the city shall proceed to abate such violation and shall prepare a statement of costs incurred in the abatement thereof to be certified to the City Council.
(2) The abatement of a violation of this section under the direction of the Chief of Police, or designated representative, shall not be a defense or excuse to the owner of a vehicle or property for not conforming with the provisions of this section.
(3) If the owner, occupant, tenant, lessee or agent of the real property where the automobile is located does not remove the automobile(s), or properly store the automobile(s) in accordance within the provisions of this section, the city or its authorized agent, will remove the vehicle(s) and assess the cost of removal, including a reasonable administrative fee, against the owner, occupant, tenant, lessee or agent of the real property where the vehicle was located. Charges for removal of a vehicle when done by the city, or for the city by its agent, or otherwise, shall pay a fee as set by resolution.
(G) Assessment of costs. Any and all costs incurred by the city in the abatement of a nuisance under the provisions of this section shall be assessed against each lot or piece of ground chargeable therewith, as a special assessment or lien as provided by law.
(H) Applicability. This section shall apply to all motor vehicles as defined in § 70.001 of this code except for:
(1) All-terrain vehicles as defined in state statutes;
(2) Snowmobiles as defined in state statutes;
(3) Minibikes as defined in state statutes; and
(4) Road and general purpose construction and maintenance machinery not designed or used primarily for the transportation of persons or property, including, but not limited to, ditch digging apparatus, asphalt spreaders, bucket loaders, leveling graders, earth moving carryalls, power shovels, earth moving equipment and crawler tractors when being used in an active construction or repair project on the real property where located, and then only for so long as the construction or project authorized by a building permit issued by the city is underway.
(Prior Code, § 72.40) (Ord. 98-27, passed 7-20-1998; Ord. 01-23, passed 4-2-2001) Penalty, see § 72.999