(A) Nuisance vehicle unlawful; removal authorized. It shall be unlawful for the owner of a motor vehicle or for the owner, lessee, or occupant of the real property upon which the vehicle is located to leave or allow the vehicle to remain on the property after it has been declared a nuisance vehicle. Upon investigation, a City Code Enforcement Official may determine and declare that a vehicle is a health or safety hazard or a public nuisance as defined above and order the vehicle removed.
(B) Removal of nuisance vehicle; pre-towing notice requirements.
(1) A vehicle to be towed or otherwise removed because it has been declared to be a nuisance vehicle shall be towed only after notice to the owner or person entitled to possession of the vehicle. If the names and mailing addresses of the owners of the vehicle or the real property upon which it is located can be ascertained in the exercise of reasonable diligence, the notice shall be given to both by first-class mail. The person who mails the notice(s) shall retain a written record to show the name(s) and address(es) to which mailed, and the date mailed. If the names and addresses cannot be ascertained, notice shall be given by affixing written notice on the windshield or some other conspicuous place on the vehicle. The notice shall state that the vehicle will be removed by the City on a specified date, no sooner than seven days after the notice is affixed or mailed, unless the vehicle is moved by the owner or legal possessor prior to that time.
(2) If the owner or person entitled to possession does not remove the vehicle but chooses to appeal the determination that the vehicle is a nuisance vehicle, the appeal shall be made to the Board of Commissioners in writing, heard at the next regularly scheduled meeting of the Board of Commissioners, and further proceeding to remove the vehicle shall be stayed until the appeal is heard and decided.
(3) A nuisance vehicle may be removed without giving the minimum seven-days’ prior notice only in those circumstances where a City Code Enforcement Official finds, and enters the findings in appropriate records, a special need for prompt action to maintain the public health, safety, and welfare.
(C) Removal of vehicle; post-towing notice requirements.
(1) Any vehicle which has been determined to be a nuisance vehicle may be removed to a storage garage or area by a towing business contracting to perform the services for the City. Whenever the vehicle is removed, the City shall immediately notify the last known registered owner of the vehicle, the notice to include the following:
(a) A description of the removed vehicle;
(b) The location where the vehicle is stored;
(c) The violation with which the owner is charged, if any;
(d) The procedure the owner must follow to redeem the vehicle; and
(e) The procedure the owner must follow to request a probable cause hearing on the removal.
(2) This notice shall be mailed to the owner’s last known address, unless waived in writing.
(3) If the vehicle is registered in North Carolina, notice shall be mailed within twenty-four (24) hours. If the vehicle is not registered in this state, notice shall be mailed to the owner within seventy-two (72) hours from the removal of the vehicle.
(4) Whenever a nuisance vehicle is removed and the vehicle has no valid registration or registration plate, reasonable efforts shall be made, including the checking of the vehicle identification number, to determine the last known registered owner of the vehicle and to notify him or her of the information set forth in division (C)(1) above.
(D) Right to probable cause hearing before sale or final disposition of vehicle. After removal of a vehicle declared to be a nuisance vehicle, the owner or other person entitled to possession may request in writing a hearing to determine if probable cause existed for removing the vehicle. The request must be filed with the magistrate in the county where the vehicle was towed. The magistrate will set the hearing within seventy-two (72) hours of receipt of the request, and the hearing will be conducted in accordance with the provisions of G.S. § 20-219.11.
(E) Sale and disposition of unclaimed vehicle.
(1) With the consent of the owner, the City may dispose of any vehicle as a junked motor vehicle without holding it for any prescribed period of time.
(2) Any unclaimed junked motor vehicle as defined by this section shall be held for a period of at least fifteen (15) days. The owner of any such vehicle may claim his or her vehicle during the fifteen-day (15) retention period by exhibiting proof of ownership to the City and by paying all reasonable costs incident to the removal and storage of the vehicle plus administrative expenses. If after the vehicle is held fifteen (15) days it remains unclaimed, the vehicle may be destroyed or sold at a private sale as junk.
(3) Within fifteen (15) days after final disposition of a junked motor vehicle, written notice thereof shall be given to the Department of Motor Vehicles that the vehicle has been determined to be a junked motor vehicle and disposed of. The notice shall contain as full and accurate a description of the vehicle as can be reasonably determined.
(F) Disposition of proceeds of sale. The proceeds of the sale of a junked motor vehicle declared to be a nuisance, after all costs of removal, storage, investigation, and sale, and satisfaction of any lien of record on the vehicle, in that order, have been deducted therefrom, shall be held by the City for thirty (30) days and paid to the owner upon demand. If the owner does not appear to claim the remainder of the proceeds within thirty (30) days after disposal of the vehicle, the funds shall be deposited into the City general fund and the owner’s rights therein shall be forever extinguished.
(G) Immunity. Neither the City nor any person shall be held to answer in any civil or criminal action to any owner or other person legally entitled to the possession of any junked, lost, or stolen vehicle for disposing of the vehicle as contemplated by this section.
(H) Exceptions. Nothing in this section shall apply to any motor vehicle in an enclosed building, any motor vehicle kept or stored at a bona fide automobile graveyard or junkyard as defined in G.S. § 136-143, or to any motor vehicle that is used on a regular basis for business or personal use.
(Ord. 07-O-01, passed 1-22-2006; Ord. 17-O- 02, passed 11-27-2017) Penalty, see § 70.99