(a) Definitions. For purposes of this section, the following definitions shall apply:
(1) "Collector's vehicle" means any motor vehicle or agricultural tractor or traction engine of special interest having a fair market value of five hundred dollars ($500.00) or more, whether operable or not, that is owned, operated, collected, preserved, restored, maintained, or used essentially as a collector's item, or investment, but not as the owner's principal means of transportation.
(2) "Inoperable" means any motor vehicle incapable of being propelled under its own power. Any motor vehicle that has not been moved for 30 consecutive days shall be presumed to be inoperable.
(3) "Junk" means any worn out, cast off, or discarded material which, in its existing condition, is ready for destruction, is incapable of being used for its original purpose or has been collected or stored for salvage or conversion to some other use, to be stored, kept, or placed outside any structure, or on any premises, except where permitted by the zoning ordinance of the City of Kenton. Junk includes, but is not limited to, garbage, waste, trash, rubbish, tree or bush branches or trimmings, brush, cast-off or discarded articles, ashes or animal litter, cans, bottles, wire, paper, cartons, boxes or bags, automobile parts, furniture, bedding, glass, or anything else of an unsightly or unsanitary nature.
(4) "Junk motor vehicle" means any motor vehicle meeting any two of the following criteria:
A. Five years or older.
B. Partially dismantled.
C. Inoperable.
D. Unlicensed or improperly licensed.
(5) "Motor vehicle" shall mean every vehicle originally designated and intended to be operated, drawn or driven or capable of being operated, drawn or driven upon a public highway by any power other than muscular power. For the purpose of this chapter, the term "motor vehicle" shall include, but is not limited to, automobiles, trucks, buses, motorcycles, snowmobiles, trailers, boats, recreational vehicles, water craft, campers, and demolition derby cars.
(6) "Partially dismantled" means, but is not limited to, the following:
A. Missing engine.
B. Missing battery.
C. Missing transmission.
D. Missing door, fenders, or hood.
E. Missing wheels or on blocks.
F. Missing tires or deflated tires.
G. Missing or broken windshield or windows.
(7) "Person" means any individual, firm, unincorporated association, corporation or other identifiable entity.
(b) Storage of Junk or Junk Motor Vehicles Prohibited. No person shall deposit, store, maintain or collect or permit the deposit, storage, maintenance or collection of any junk or junk motor vehicles on his or her own premises, or any premises in which he or she has a possessory interest, or any premises under his or her control unless such junk is stored in containers approved by the City. No person, whether motor vehicle owner or person in charge or control of any premises within the City, whether as owner, tenant, lessee, occupant, or otherwise, shall allow any junk or junk motor vehicle to remain upon any premises longer than ten days after receipt of written notice to remove the junk or junk motor vehicle from such premises. The written notice shall be issued to the property owner and/or owner of such vehicle by an officer of the Police Department or by the Safety Director. Such written notice shall contain:
(1) The name of the property owner.
(2) The property address at which the junk or junk motor vehicle is located.
(3) The make and model of the motor vehicle or description and/or photograph of the junk.
(4) The license plate number, if any.
(5) The vehicle identification number (VIN), if available.
(6) A description of the condition of said vehicle.
(7) A statement to the effect that the person in charge or in control of the private property upon which such vehicle is located and the titled owner of such motor vehicle are jointly and severally liable for all costs incurred by the City for the removal, storage, and disposal of such vehicle, plus an administrative fee of one hundred fifty dollars ($150.00) per vehicle.
(8) A notice of any right to appeal.
(c) Service.
(1) Upon information that junk or junk motor vehicles are located on land within the City, the City Police Department or Safety Service Director shall cause a written notice to be served. Such notice may be served by one of the following methods:
A. Delivery by personal service upon the person to whom the notice is directed or such person's agent; or
B. Sent by regular U.S. Mail evidenced by a U.S. Postal Certificate of Mailing addressed to such person at the last known address which is reasonably calculated to reach the party named in the notice.
(2) If the notice is returned showing that the letter was not delivered because the addressee no longer lives there, is unknown, or because a wrong address was used and no other address is known, then a copy of said notice shall be posted in a conspicuous place in or about the structure affected by such notice, and the notice shall be published at least once in a newspaper of general circulation in the City.
(d) (1) Removal of junk or junk motor vehicle by city. If the owner, lessee, agent, or person having charge of the land where junk or a junk motor vehicle is located, or the titled owner of the motor vehicle, served with notice as provided in division (c) of this section, fails during the ten-day period provided for in division (b) of this section above stated, to remove such junk or junk vehicle, the Service Director of the City, his agent, or an officer of the Police Department, is authorized to dispose of any junk and impound any junk motor vehicle remaining within the City in violation of this section. Such junk vehicle shall be impounded until lawfully claimed or disposed of in accordance with R.C. § 4513.63. Upon impounding of junk or impounding of a junk motor vehicle, a photograph shall be taken.
(2) Right of entry. When the Service Director, his or her agent or appropriate law enforcement officer has reason to believe that junk or junk motor vehicles may exist on a certain property, the said Service Director, his or her agent or law enforcement officer is authorized at reasonable times to enter upon the property to inspect same. Prior to entering into a space not otherwise open to the general public, the Service Director, his or her agent or law enforcement officer shall make a reasonable effort to locate the owner or other person having charge or control of the premises, and present proper identification and request entry. If requested entry is refused or otherwise not obtained, the law enforcement officer shall have recourse as provided by law.
(e) Expenses. All expenses relating to the removal and disposition of junk or the removal and impoundment of a junk motor vehicle shall be paid out of funds appropriated by Council upon vouchers approved by the Mayor. The expenses shall consist of the following:
(1) All direct costs for the removal and disposal of junk and/or removal and impoundment of a junk motor vehicle;
(2) The costs for preparing and serving all notices; and
(3) An administrative fee of one hundred fifty dollars ($150.00) for each location where junk or junk motor vehicles are removed.
(f) Collection. In the event that the owner or other person in charge or control of such property, and/or the titled owner of said vehicle, fails to pay such expenses within 30 days after being notified in writing, by regular U.S. mail, of the amount thereof by the Safety Director, the expenses set forth in division (e) of this section may be collected using one or more of the following methods, provided, however, that the expenses may only be collected once:
(1) Such expenses may be certified by Council to the County Auditor and placed upon the tax duplicate for collection as a special assessment and thereupon shall be collected as other taxes and assessments; or
(2) The Director of Law is authorized to bring suit and take other necessary legal action to collect all such expenses.
(g) Joint and Several Liability. The owner, lessee, agent, tenant, or person otherwise having charge or control of such premises, and the titled owner of such vehicle, are jointly and severally liable for all expenses of the City as set forth in division (e) of this section.
(h) Movement within the City. The movement of a vehicle in violation of this section to any other location within the City limits that does not abate the violation under this section shall not constitute compliance with this section.
(i) Exceptions. The provisions of this section shall not apply to the deposit, parking, storage, maintenance, or collection of junk or junk motor vehicles in regularly established automotive junk yards or salvage or scrap metal yards within the City, nor shall it apply to the storage of junk or junk motor vehicles in an enclosed permanent building or structure, nor shall it apply in an area of the City where the same is permitted under the Zoning Code.
(j) Storage of Collector's Vehicles. Any person in charge or in control of any premises within the City, whether as owner, tenant, lessee, occupant, or otherwise, shall completely conceal any collector's vehicle stored on the property by means of storage inside buildings or fences which comply with all building and zoning ordinances and all building codes.
(k) Storage of Junk Motor Vehicles a Nuisance. Except as allowed in division (i) of this section, the deposit, parking, storage, maintenance, or collection of junk motor vehicles on private property is hereby declared to be a public nuisance and offensive to the public health, welfare, and safety of the residents of the City.
(l) Notices. Any person found to be in violation of this section shall, for a first offense in any calendar year, and before being charged with such violation, be served with a written notice directing such person to remove such junk or junk cars from such premises within ten days of receipt of such notice. Failure to comply with the terms of such notice shall be deemed to be a prima-facie violation of this section. Such notice shall not be required prior to the filing of a complaint against such person for a subsequent violation of this section in the same calendar year.
(m) Penalties. Whoever violates this section is guilty of a minor misdemeanor for a first offense in any calendar year and a misdemeanor of the third degree for any subsequent offense in the same calendar year. A separate offense shall be deemed committed each day during or on which a violation occurs or continues. The penalty shall be as provided in Section 698.02.
(Ord. 99-008. Passed 4-12-99; Ord. 06-009. Passed 4-10-06; Ord. 07-015. Passed 5-29-07; Ord. 07-017. Passed 6-11-07; Ord. 21-016. Passed 7-26-21.)