519.01 Statement of policy.
519.02 Definitions.
519.03 Abandonment of vehicles prohibited.
519.04 Junked vehicles prohibited in certain places.
519.05 Old vehicle tires and inoperative or abandoned household appliances prohibited in certain places.
519.06 Authority to take possession of abandoned vehicles; notification to owner of private property.
519.07 Notification of vehicle owner and lienholders.
519.08 Disposal of unclaimed vehicles, etc.
519.09 Proceeds from sale of abandoned vehicle, etc.
519.10 Injunctive relief.
519.99 Penalty.
(a) Council recognizes and declares that abandoned motor vehicles, junked motor vehicles, old vehicle tires and certain abandoned or inoperative household appliances are and constitute a public nuisance and hazard to both adults and children, and therefore are dangerous and constitute a clear and present danger; that such abandoned motor vehicles, junked motor vehicles, old vehicles tires and certain abandoned or inoperative household appliances serve as harborage and breeding places for rodents, mosquitoes, fleas, ticks, mice, rats and other insects, pests and flies injurious to the public health, safety and general welfare; that abandoned motor vehicles and junked motor vehicles serve frequently as temporary or permanent places of human residence unconducive to the public health, safety and welfare; and that the accumulation and storage of any of such items or parts thereof on private or public property, including but not limited to highways, is hereby found to create a condition tending to reduce the value of private property and to promote blight and deterioration which, if permitted to remain, will continue to destroy the natural beauty of this City and have adverse economic and social effects; that such abandoned motor vehicles, junked motor vehicles, old vehicle tires and certain abandoned or inoperative household appliances constitute an attractive nuisance creating a hazard to the health and safety of minors; that such items are nearly always located on public highways, rights of way or within sight of such highway, rights of way and on private property within a reasonable proximity thereto, and when so located the cost of controlling or abating such visual pollution is a detriment to economic development; and that is in the public interest and welfare to provide for a program to eliminate the unsightly practice of abandoning motor vehicles, old vehicle tires and certain abandoned or inoperative household appliances.
(b) In view of these findings Council declares it to be the public policy of this City to eliminate the present danger resulting from abandoned motor vehicles, junked motor vehicles, old vehicle tires and certain abandoned or inoperative household appliances and to eliminate the visual pollution resulting from these items, and that in order to provide for the public health, safety, welfare and quality of life, to enact legislation to that and by providing expeditious means and methods for effecting the disposal of abandoned motor vehicles, junked motor vehicles, old vehicle tires, and certain abandoned household appliances. Council further finds and declares that the presence of an abandoned motor vehicle, junked motor vehicle, old vehicle tire, or an abandoned or inoperative household appliance, or any part thereof, on private or public property, including but not limited to highways, except as expressly hereinafter permitted, is a public nuisance injurious to the public health, safety and general welfare of the residents of the City which shall be abated as such by the methods provided in this article.
(Ord. 448. Passed 11-16-81.)
For the purpose of this article, the following words and phrases shall have the meanings respectively ascribed to them by this section:
(a) “Abandoned household appliance” means a refrigerator, deep-freezer, range, stove, automatic dishwasher, clothes washer or dryer, trash compactor, television set, radio, air conditioning unit, commode or bed springs, to which no person claims ownership and which is not in an enclosed building or a licensed salvage yard or in the actual possession of a demolisher.
(b) “Abandoned motor vehicle” means any motor vehicle or major part thereof which is inoperative and which has been abandoned on public or private property for any period of time over five days, other than in an enclosed building or in a licensed salvage yard or at the business establishment of a demolisher; or any motor vehicle or any major part thereof which has remained illegally on public or private property without consent of the owner or person in control of the property for any period of time over three days; or any motor vehicle or major part thereof which is unattended, discarded, deserted and unlicensed and is not in an enclosed building or a licensed salvage yard or in the actual possession of a demolisher.
(c) “Demolisher” means any person licensed by the Commissioner of the Department of Highways whose business, to any extent or degree, is to convert a motor vehicle or any part thereof or an inoperative household appliance into processed scrap or scrap metal, or into the saleable parts, or otherwise to wreck or dismantle vehicles or appliances.
(d) “Enclosed building” means a structure surrounded by walls or one continuous wall, and having a roof enclosing the entire structure, including a permanent appendage thereto.
(e) “Enforcement agency” means the City Police Department.
(f) “Inoperative household appliance” means a refrigerator, deep-freezer, range, stove, automatic dishwasher, clothes washer or dryer, trash compactor, television set, radio, air conditioning unit, commode or bed springs, which by reason of mechanical or physical defects can no longer be used for its intended purpose, and which is either not serving a functional purpose or use or is not in an enclosed building, a licensed salvage yard or the actual possession of a demolisher.
(g) “Junked motor vehicles” means a motor vehicle, or any part thereof (other than on- premises farm utility vehicle) which is discarded, wrecked, ruined, scrapped or dismantled; cannot pass the State inspection required in West Virginia Code Chapter 17C and is either not serving a functional purpose or use or is not in an enclosed building, a licensed salvage yard or the actual possession of a demolisher.
(h) “Motor vehicle” means a vehicle which is or was self-propelled, including but not limited to automobiles, trucks, busses and motorcycles.
(i) “Licensed salvage yard” means a salvage yard licensed under West Virginia Code Chapter 17-23.
(j) “Old vehicle tire” means a pneumatic tire in which compressed air is designed to support a load, but which, because of wear, damage or defect, can no longer safely be used on a motor vehicle, and which is either not serving a functional purpose or use or is not in an enclosed building, a licensed salvage yard or the actual possession of a demolisher.
(k) “Person” includes a natural person, corporation, firm, partnership, association or society and the plural as well as the singular.
(Ord. 448. Passed 11-16-81.)
No person shall within this City abandon a motor vehicle upon the right of way of any public highway, upon any other public real property, or upon any private real property which he/she does not own, lease, rent or otherwise control unless it be at a licensed salvage yard or at the business establishment of a demolisher, or upon any private real property which he/she may own, lease, rent or otherwise control unless it is a licensed salvage yard or at the business establishment of a demolisher.
(Ord. 612. Passed 9-19-05.)
No person shall within this City place or deposit any junked motor vehicle upon the right of way of any public highway or upon any other public real property; nor shall any person within this City place or deposit any junked motor vehicle upon any private real property which he/she does not own, lease, rent or otherwise control unless it be at a licensed salvage yard, or at the business establishment of a demolisher; nor shall any person within the City place or deposit any junked motor vehicle upon any private real property which he/she may own, lease, rent or otherwise control unless it be at a licensed salvage yard, or at the business establishment of a demolisher.
(Ord. 612. Passed 9-19-05.)
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