(A) It shall be unlawful to allow nuisances in the form of junked or wrecked vehicles, machines, scrap, salvage materials and mobile or manufactured homes to exist on real property in the city not within a duly licensed salvage yard pursuant to KRS 177.910 to 177.950 and any violation of this prohibition shall be a civil offense. Furthermore:
(1) No inoperative or unlicensed motor vehicle shall be parked, kept or stored on any premises and no vehicle shall at any time be in a state of major disassembly, disrepair or in the process of being stripped or dismantled. Painting of vehicles is prohibited unless conducted inside an approved spray booth. Except as provided in division (A)(2) below, it shall be unlawful for the owner, occupant or person having control or management of any land within the city to permit a public nuisance, health hazard or source of filth to develop thereon through the accumulation of:
(a) One or more junked or wrecked automobiles, vehicles, machines or other similar scrap or salvage materials, excluding non-operative farm equipment; or
(b) One or more mobile or manufactured homes, as defined in KRS 227.550, that are junked, wrecked or non-operative and are not inhabited.
(2) The provisions of division (A)(1) above shall not apply to:
(a) Junked, wrecked or non-operative automobiles, vehicles, machines or other similar scrap or salvage materials located on the business premises of a licensed automotive recycling dealer, as defined under the provisions of KRS 190.010(8);
(b) Junked, wrecked or non-operative motor vehicles, including parts cars, stored on private real property by automobile collectors, whether as a hobby or a profession, if these motor vehicles and parts cars are stored out of ordinary public view by means of suitable fencing, trees, shrubbery or other means;
(c) Any motor vehicle as defined in KRS 281.010 that is owned, controlled, operated, managed or leased by a motor carrier; and
(d) A vehicle of any type is permitted to undergo major overhaul, including body work; provided that, such work is performed inside a structure or similarly enclosed area designed and approved for such purposes.
(3) The city may take action to abate the nuisances referenced in this section by giving five days’ written notice to the property owner to abate the violation of keeping junked vehicles and said notice shall be served in accordance with § 92.17(B). The city itself may abate or remove a nuisance referenced under this section if the property owner fails to do so after notice is given regarding the nuisance. The city shall have a lien against the property for the reasonable value of labor and material used in remedying the nuisance including, but not limited to, the cost of towing, holding, storage and disposal. An affidavit of a Code Enforcement Officer shall constitute prima facie evidence of the amount of the lien and the regularity of the proceedings pursuant to this section and it shall be recorded in the office of the County Clerk. The lien shall be notice to all persons from the time of its recording and shall bear interest thereafter until paid. The lien created shall take precedence over all other liens, except state, county, school board and the city taxes, and may be enforced by judicial proceeding if all legal requirements are satisfied.
(4) In addition to the remedies prescribed above or any other remedy authorized by law, the owner of a property upon which a lien has been attached pursuant to this section shall be personally liable for the amount of the lien and the city may bring a civil action against the owner and shall have the same remedies as provided for the recovery of a debt owned.
(1984 Code, § 92.12) (Ord. O-13-03, passed 4-1-2003; Ord. O-32-16, passed 11-15-2016; Ord. O-15-20, passed 8-11-2020)