Police officers are authorized to provide for the removal and impounding of a vehicle under the following circumstances:
(a) When any vehicle is left unattended upon any street, bridge or causeway and is so illegally parked so as to constitute a hazard or obstruction to the normal movement of traffic, or so as to unreasonably interfere with street cleaning or snow removal operations;
(b) When any motor vehicle, including an abandoned junk motor vehicle, as defined in Ohio R.C. 4513.63, is left on private residential property, as defined in Section 452.05(d), or on private agricultural property, for at least four consecutive hours without the permission of the person having the right to the possession of the property, or on a public street or other property open to the public for purposes of vehicular travel, or upon or within the right of way of any road or highway, for forty-eight consecutive hours or longer, without notification to the Police Chief of the reasons for leaving such vehicle in such place, except that when such a motor vehicle constitutes an obstruction to traffic, it may be ordered into storage immediately;
(c) When any vehicle has been stolen or operated without the consent of the owner;
(d) When any vehicle displays illegal license plates or fails to display the current lawfully required license plates;
(e) When any vehicle has been used in or connected with the commission of a felony;
(f) When any vehicle has been damaged or wrecked so as to be inoperable or violates equipment provisions of this Traffic Code whereby its continued operation would constitute a condition hazardous to life, limb or property;
(g) When any vehicle is left unattended due to the removal of an ill, injured or arrested operator;
(h) When any vehicle has been operated by any person who has failed to stop in case of an accident or collision;
(i) When any vehicle has been operated by any person who is driving without a lawful license or while his or her license has been suspended or revoked;
(j) When any vehicle is found for which two or more citation tags for violations of this Traffic Code have been issued and the owner or operator thereof has failed to respond to such citation tags as lawfully required.
(k) The Chief of Police shall order any abandoned junk motor vehicle to be photographed by a law enforcement officer or other employee of the Police Department. The officer or designee shall record the make of motor vehicle, the serial number when available, and shall also detail the damage or missing equipment to substantiate the value of one thousand five hundred dollars ($1,500.00) or less. The Chief of Police shall develop a procedure to immediately dispose of the abandoned junk motor vehicle to a motor vehicle salvage dealer as defined in Ohio R.C. 4738.01 or a scrap metal processing facility as defined in Ohio R.C. 4737.05 which is under contract to the City, or to any other facility owned by or under contract with the City for destruction of such motor vehicle. The Chief of Police shall solicit proposal from a minimum of three such facilities for the highest price paid for such scrap when disposing of such junked vehicles. The records and photograph relating to the abandoned junk motor vehicle shall be retained by the law enforcement agency ordering the disposition of such vehicle for a period of at least two years. The law enforcement agency shall execute in quadruplicate an affidavit, as prescribed by the Registrar of Motor Vehicles, describe the motor vehicle and the manner in which it was disposed of, and that all requirements of this section have been complied with, and shall sign and file the same with the Clerk of Courts of the county in which the motor vehicle was abandoned. The Clerk of Courts shall retain the original of the affidavit for the Clerk's files, shall furnish a copy thereof to the Registrar, one copy to the motor vehicle salvage dealer or other facility handling the disposal of the vehicle, and one copy to the law enforcement agent ordering the disposal, who shall file such copy with the records and photograph relating to the disposal. Any moneys arising from the disposal of an abandoned junk motor vehicle shall be deposited in a fund designated by the City to pay for such services.
(Ord. 04-5. Passed 1-20-04.)