§ 12.10 INOPERABLE MOTOR VEHICLES.
   (A)   Definitions. For the purpose of this section, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
      AUTHORIZED PLACE FOR STORAGE. Any garage or building that a motor vehicle is kept in when not in use, a place of business engaged in the wrecking or junking of motor vehicles or a place of business of a state licensed automobile dealer.
      INOPERABLE MOTOR VEHICLE. Any motor vehicle from which, for a period of at least seven days, the engine, wheels or other parts have been removed or on which the engine, wheels or other parts have been altered, damaged or otherwise so treated that the vehicle is incapable of being driven under its own motor power.
      MOTOR VEHICLE. Any automobile, bus, truck, motorcycle, motorbike, motor scooter, go-cart or any home-made or custom-made vehicle capable of being driven under its own motor power upon streets, roads or highways.
   (B)   Exceptions. This section will not apply to the following motor vehicles:
      (1)   A motor vehicle which is kept within a building when not in use;
      (2)   An operable antique vehicle over 25 years of age;
      (3)   A motor vehicle on the premises of a place of business engaged in the wrecking or junking of motor vehicles, or on the premises of a place of business engaged in the sale of new or used automobiles; or
      (4)   A motor vehicle that has been rendered temporarily incapable of being driven under its own motor power in order to perform ordinary service or repair operations for a period of not more than 14 days from the date said vehicle become inoperable.
   (C)   Duty to dispose of inoperable motor vehicle.
      (1)   Any person not exempted under division (B) above shall dispose of any inoperable motor vehicle owned by him or her or under his or her control or located upon property owned or occupied by him or her upon written notice received from the Village Clerk commanding the disposition of the inoperable motor vehicle.
      (2)   All inoperable vehicles on public or private property are hereby declared to be a nuisance. It shall be unlawful to maintain or permit the existence of inoperable motor vehicles whether on public or private property within the municipal limits of the village.
      (3)   This section shall not apply to authorized places of storage.
   (D)   Notice.
      (1)   Whenever the Village Administrator, the Chief of Police or any police officer shall, in accordance with this section, determine that any motor vehicle is an inoperable motor vehicle, they shall, if the inoperable motor vehicle displays current license or registration plates or decals from which the last known owner may be determined in a reasonable expeditious manner, notice as set forth below shall be sent to the last registered owner of such inoperable motor vehicle and to the owner or occupant of the property upon which such inoperable motor vehicle is located.
      (2)   (a)   All notices provided by this section shall be sent by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested, postage prepaid.
         (b)   Notice to one owner of said vehicle or one owner or occupant of said property shall be considered notice to all owners or occupants.
         (c)   Refusal to accept delivery of said notice shall be deemed acceptance for purposes of this section.
         (d)   The date of notice for purposes of this section, shall be the day after the date said notice was deposited with the United States postal service.
         (e)   Instead of notice by mail, notice provided herein may be personally served by a police officer of the village upon said person or an occupant of the same house hold above the age of 14 years old, in which case the date of notice shall be the date of said sendee.
      (3)   Said notice shall inform the owner and operator of the motor vehicle or the owner or occupant of the said real estate that they shall remove said motor vehicle from the village or to an authorized place of storage within ten days after receipt thereof, and the terms of said notice shall be substantially as follows:
 
NOTICE TO REMOVE INOPERABLE VEHICLE
 
To: (owner of motor vehicle or of real estate motor vehicle is located upon).
 
Date:                                                           
 
You are hereby notified that an inoperable vehicle described as                                               (make, year, color, description of motor vehicle) with registration plates number                                is registered in the name(s) of                                   with the State of                                 . This vehicle is located on the following premises                                                                 (legal description or street address) within the limits of the Village of Lakemoor outside of an enclosed building. Said motor vehicle is deemed to be an inoperable motor vehicle under the terms of the Village of Lakemoor Municipal Code Ch. 12, § 12.10. You are hereby notified that such inoperable motor vehicle must be removed, disposed of, repaired or placed in an enclosed building within ten days from the date of this notice as indicated above. You may request a hearing on the matter of whether the above described vehicle is an inoperable motor vehicle in violation of the ordinance by submitting a written request for such a hearing to the Board of Trustees of the Village of Lakemoor, addresses as set forth below, within ten days of the date of this notice. In the event that you submit such a request for a hearing, a hearing date will be set and you will be advised of the time, date and place of such hearing at least three days in advance of the date of such hearing. Pursuant to the ordinance, you may request an extension period at any such hearing. The Board of Trustees shall, upon good cause being shown, grant an extension of not more than 30 days if the owner of the vehicle or the owner or occupant of the property upon which such inoperable motor vehicle is located submits to the Board of Trustees an affidavit that the inoperable motor vehicle is being held for sale or expeditious repair as defined by § 12.10(E)(2). To request a hearing, deliver or mail by registered mail, return receipt requested, a request for such a hearing in writing to the Village of Lakemoor, 234 W. Rand Road, Lakemoor, Illinois 60051. If you fail to request a hearing within ten days of the date of this notice, and you do not remove, dispose of, place the inoperable motor vehicle in an enclosed building, or provide documentation to the Village of Lakemoor of repairs within the specified period, or within any extension granted by the Board of Trustees after a hearing, such inoperable motor vehicle is subject to being towed and impounded and you may be charged with a violation of the ordinance and subject to a fine of not less than $200 and not more than $1,000 for such violation. In addition, the costs of towing and storage will be assessed against you.
 
      (4)   For the purposes of this section, a person who last paid real estate taxes on the real estate on which said motor vehicle is located shall be deemed to be the owner of the real estate and the person to whom the vehicle was last licensed shall be deemed to be an owner of said vehicle. Nothing in this section shall require the village to serve notice on both the owner of the motor vehicle and the property owner in the event the village is unable to determine who owns said motor vehicle by examination of the license plates.
   (E)   Hearing.
      (1)   The person or persons, or the designated agent thereof, to whom the notice as specified by this section is directed, shall have the right to a hearing before the Board of Trustees of the village on the matter of whether the motor vehicle cited in such notice is an inoperable motor vehicle in violation of this section. To obtain such a hearing, any such person must first submit a written request for such a hearing, by hand delivery or by registered mail, return receipt requested, addressed to the Village of Lakemoor, 234 W. Rand Road, Lakemoor, IL 60051, within ten days of the date of any such notice. In the event that a hearing is so requested, the Village Clerk shall, as soon as reasonably practicable, set a time, date and place for the hearing before the Board of Trustees and shall cause the person or persons so requesting the hearing to be provided with written notice of the time, date and place of the hearing at least three days in advance of the date thereof. All enforcement of this section shall be stayed pending said hearing and determination by the Board of Trustees.
      (2)   The owner of the vehicle or the owner or occupant of the property where the vehicle is located may apply for an extension of time by making a written request for a hearing as provided in division (E)(1) above.
Upon receipt of any such application for an extension of time, the Board of Trustees shall, upon good cause being shown, grant an extension of not more that 30 days, if such person submits to the Board of Trustees and affidavit that the inoperable motor vehicle is being held for sale or expeditious repair. As used in this section, EXPEDITIOUS REPAIR shall mean:
         (a)   The necessary parts for repair have been ordered but are not available for installation in the inoperable motor vehicle for reasons not within the control of the owner of said inoperable motor vehicle;
         (b)   The inoperable motor vehicle is scheduled to be repaired by a person whose regular course of business includes the repair of vehicles and the scheduled repair date is within 30 days; or
         (c)   The inoperable motor vehicle is in such condition of being inoperable as a result of a vehicular accident, and the owner of said vehicle or any third party to whom or from whom a claim for damages sustained in such accident is anticipated is investigating or preparing a claim for such damages, but in no event shall any such extension period exceed 30 days.
   (F)   Towing.
      (1)   In the event the owner receiving notice provided for in this section does not comply with the terms of this section, and except as provided in the following division (G) below, the Police Department of the village shall cause the towing or removal of the inoperable vehicle from private property ten days or thereafter following said notice to the owner of the vehicle and the owner or occupant of the premises where the vehicle is located.
      (2)   In the event a request for hearing before the Board of Trustees was properly made and the Board of Trustees determined by majority vote that the said vehicle is an inoperable motor vehicle for the purposes of this section, then the Board of Trustees shall set a reasonable date by which said vehicle shall be disposed of or enclosed within a building. Said date shall be no less than ten days after the date of hearing. In the event said vehicle is not disposed of or enclosed within a building by the said date set by the Board of Trustees, then the Police Department of the village shall cause the towing or removal of the inoperable motor vehicle without further, prior notice thereof. It shall be the responsibility of the owner of said vehicle to deliver a written notice to the Village Clerk and to provide documentation and/or demonstration of operability if said vehicle has been put into operable condition prior to towing or removal of said vehicle. In the event no such written notice is received by the Village Clerk prior to towing or removal, it shall be presumed that said vehicle remains inoperable and may be towed or removed in accordance herewith.
      (3)   Whenever an inoperable motor vehicle is towed or removed by a towing service pursuant to the provisions of this section, the owner of the inoperable motor vehicle and the owner or occupant of the property upon which such inoperable motor vehicle is located shall be jointly and severally responsible for all towing and storage charges unless otherwise determined by the Board of Trustees pursuant to hearing as provided in this section.
      (4)   Within 48 hours of the removal of such vehicle, the Village Clerk shall send notice to the registered owner of the vehicle and lien holder, if known, and also to the owner or occupant of the private property from which the vehicle was removed that said vehicle(s) has been impounded and stored for violation of this chapter. The notice shall give the location of where the vehicle(s) is towed and the costs incurred by the village for removal.
      (5)   Any inoperable motor vehicle towed or removed pursuant to the provisions of this chapter shall be stored and claimed or disposed of in accordance with the applicable provisions of the Illinois Vehicle Code (ILCS Ch. 625, Act 5, § 4-201), as amended, entitled Abandoned, Lost, Stolen or Unclaimed Vehicles.
   (G)   Penalty. Any person, firm or corporation violating any provisions of this section shall be subject to a fine of not less than $200 and not more than $750 and be responsible for the village’s cost of prosecution, including reasonable attorneys fees, and payment of all towing, storage and processing charges and collection costs. Each day that a violation continues shall be considered a separate offense.
(Ord. 10-O-04, passed 1-28-2010)