(A) For purposes of this section, the following definitions shall apply:
(1) “Junk motor vehicle” means any motor vehicle meeting any three of the following criteria:
a. Three years old or older
b. Partially dismantled
c. Inoperable
d. Fair market value of less than one thousand five hundred dollars ($1,500.00).
e. Unlicensed or improperly licensed.
(2) “Partially dismantled” means, but 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
(3) “Inoperable” means any motor vehicle incapable to being propelled under its own power. Any motor vehicle that has not been moved for thirty consecutive days shall be presumed to be inoperable.
(4) “Collector’s vehicle” means any motor vehicle or agricultural tractor or traction engine of special interest having a fair market value of one hundred dollars ($100.00) or more, whether operable or not, that is owned, operated, collected, preserved, stored, maintained or used essentially as a collector’s item, leisure pursuit or investment, but not as the owner’s principal means of transportation.
(b) No 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 motor vehicle to remain upon any premises longer than ten days after receipt of written notice to remove the junk motor vehicle from such premises. The written notice shall be issued to the property owner and/or the owner of such vehicle by an office of the Police Department or by the Code Official. Such written notice shall contain:
(1) The name of the property owner.
(2) The property address at which the junk motor vehicle is located.
(3) The make and model of the vehicle.
(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 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 in the amount set forth in section 1804.38.
(8) A notice of any right to appeal.
(c) Such written notice shall be served in the manner prescribed by Section 1804.31.
(d) If the owner, lessee, agent or person having charge of the land, or the title owner of the motor vehicle, served with the notice, fails to remove such junk motor vehicle, an officer of the Police Department approved by the Chief of Police, or the Code Official, is authorized to remove and impound any junk motor vehicle remaining at any place within the City in violation of this section. Such junk motor vehicle shall be impounded until lawfully claimed or disposed of in accordance with Ohio R.C. 4513.63. Upon impounding of a junk motor vehicle a photograph shall be taken.
(e) All expenses related to the removal and impoundment of such junk motor vehicle by the City 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 impoundment of the vehicle; plus
(2) The costs for preparing and serving all notices; plus
(3) An administrative fee in the amount set forth in section 1804.38, per vehicle.
(f) In the event that the owner or other person in charge or control of such property, and/or the title owner of said vehicle, fails to pay such expenses within thirty days after being notified in writing, by regular U.S. mail, of the amount thereof by the Code Official, the expenses set forth in subsection (e) hereof 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) 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 incurred by the City as set forth in subsection (e) hereof.
(h) 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) The provisions of this section shall not apply to the deposit, parking, storage, maintenance or collection of junk motor vehicles in an enclosed building in a regularly established junk yard in any area of the City in which the same is permitted under the Zoning Code, or a collector's vehicle as described in subsection (a)(4) hereof.
(j) 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) Except as allowed in subsections (i) and (j) hereof, 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) Any person who has received notice to remove a junk vehicle may appeal to the Board of Building Appeals. An appeal must be filed within five days after service of the notice, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, together with a fee of twenty-five dollars ($25.00) for the cost of the appeal. The twenty-five dollars ($25.00) will be refunded if the appeal is successful. The scope of the appeal shall be limited to determining whether the person requesting such appeal is in charge or control of the private property involved, or is the titled owner of said vehicle, and whether such vehicle is a junk motor vehicle as charged. At such appeal, the appellant must appear in person, and the City and the appellant may introduce such witnesses and evidence as each party deems necessary. The appeal provision provided herein shall be the exclusive method of appeal of notices of violations of this section, notwithstanding the method of appeal set forth in Section 1804.33.
(Ord. 20-96, Passed 2-26-96; Ord. 195-03, Passed 10-20-03; Ord. 85-13, Passed 4-22-13.)