(A) Public streets or highways. Any abandoned vehicle may be removed from a public street or highway by the town upon expiration of the 24-hour requirement of the notice of intent to impound specified in § 5-4-9 of this chapter.
(B) Public property. An abandoned vehicle may be removed from public property upon expiration of the five-day requirement of the notice of intent to impound specified in § 5-4-9.
(C) Private property. An abandoned vehicle may be removed from private property upon expiration of the five-day requirement of the notice of intent to impound specified in § 5-4-9 after the written request of the owner of the property, or the person in lawful control thereof, together with a signed statement that such vehicle has been placed thereon without his or her consent. Any vehicle left unattended on private property for 30 days without the consent of the owner or the person in lawful possession or control of the property or after the expiration of the consent, oral or written, of the owner or the person in lawful possession or control of the property is presumed abandoned five days after a notice of intent to impound has been placed on it pursuant to § 5-4-9.
(D) Conditions for removal. A junk vehicle kept on private property in violation of the provisions of this chapter may be removed by the town after the following conditions have been satisfied:
(1) Notice of the violation has been served upon or sent to the owner or legal possessor of the real property by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested, at the last known address as determined from the utility records of the town or the tax records of the county and, where practical, a notice shall also be affixed to the windshield or some other part of the vehicle where it can be easily seen. The written notice mailed to the real property owner or legal possessor shall include substantially the following information:
(a) A statement that a certain vehicle is a
JUNK VEHICLE, as defined in § 5-4-2, the notice should include the make, year, and vehicle identification number if reasonably possible;
(b) A description of the real property, by street address or otherwise, on which the nuisance exists;
(c) A statement that such nuisance must be abated within 30 days from the date on the notice;
(d) A statement that if the nuisance is not abated within the time provided, the town may abate the nuisance, and the cost of the abatement may be charged to the owner of the nuisance or assessed against the land upon which the nuisance exists, or both;
(e) A statement that a hearing upon the allegation of a junk vehicle and the assessment of costs may be requested by giving written notice to the Town Clerk-Treasurer within ten days from the date on the notice of junk vehicle, and that a request must specify the property concerning which the request is made, the requesting party’s name and address, and the nature of the interest held by the requesting party; that, upon request, a hearing will be scheduled to determine if a junk vehicle exists and as to the assessment of administrative costs and the costs of abatement; that if a hearing is not so requested, the right to a hearing shall be waived; and
(f) A statement that failure to abate the junk vehicle may result in a town abatement and/or criminal charges.
(2) Not less than 30 days have passed without the vehicle being removed or enclosed in a secure building by the property owner or possessor. Removal of the vehicle to another location within the town on private property in violation of the provisions of this chapter, without regard to the time which has elapsed after the notice was sent, is not sufficient to avoid removal or to require the process to begin anew.
(Prior Code, § 5-4-5) (Ord. 345, passed 4-21-2005; Ord. 2024-01, passed 4-4-2024)