(a) For purposes of this section:
(1) "Junk motor vehicle" means any motor vehicle which meets any three of the following requirements:
A. Is three years old or older;
B. Is extensively damaged, such damage including but not limited to any of the following; missing wheels, tires, motor, or transmission;
C. Does not comply with all safety laws and equipment provisions for motor vehicles as found in Ohio R.C. Chapter 4513;
D. Has a fair market value of eight hundred dollars ($800.00) or less;
E. Is apparently inoperable;
F. Does not display a valid license plate;
(2) "Motor vehicle" shall be defined as in Section 301.20.
(b) Except as otherwise provided herein, the storage of junk motor vehicles on private property is declared a nuisance and shall be abated in accordance with the provisions of this section.
(c) No person shall fail to abate a nuisance, as defined herein, on private property which the person owns, occupies, or controls longer than ten days after notice and order to abate the same, as provided herein.
(d) (1) Notice and order shall be issued and delivered by the Police Chief or by any member of the Police Department duly designated by him, or by the Zoning Inspector of the City of Fremont, in any manner provided by the Ohio Rules of Civil Procedure. Such notice and order shall be in writing and shall provide a description of the nuisance and the location of the premises on which the nuisance exists. Such notice shall state that a hearing to appeal the order may be made, in writing, within then days after notice, to the Safety-Service Director of the City.
(2) Failure to appeal the order, as provided herein, shall be deemed conclusive proof that the vehicle described is a nuisance and the junk motor vehicle may be removed by the Police Department immediately.
(3) The fact that a junk motor vehicle is left on private property without the filing of an appeal, as provided herein, is prima facie evidence of willful failure to comply with the order.
(e) (1) After a motor vehicle has been determined to be a junk motor vehicle, as provided herein, the Police Department may immediately cause the junk motor vehicle to be removed from the property where the junk motor vehicle is located. The place of storage for any junk motor vehicle which has been removed by the Police Department shall be designated by the Chief of Police.
(2) Any junk motor vehicle removed by the Police Department, as provided herein, shall be disposed of in accordance with the procedures set forth in Ohio R.C. 4513.63.
(f) Whoever violates subsection (c) hereof is guilty of a misdemeanor of the fourth degree. Provided, however, that no person shall be imprisoned for the first offense, and the prosecution shall always be for a first offense unless the affidavit upon which the prosecution is instituted contains the allegation that the offender has previously been convicted of this offense within six months of the violation.
(g) Each junk motor vehicle left in the open in violation of subsection (b) hereof shall constitute a separate offense. Every 20 days that a person remains in violation of subsection (c) hereof shall constitute a separate offense.
(h) Conviction under this section shall not be construed as excusing or permitting the continuation of any violation.
(Ord. 92-2762. Passed 6-18-92.)