A. Definitions:
ACTIVELY RESTORED: A vehicle is being actively restored when the owner of the vehicle or premises on which the vehicle is located has, within the last sixty (60) days, spent at least ten (10) hours of labor in the repairing, rebuilding or reconstruction of the motor vehicle for the purpose of restoring it to running condition. The burden shall be on the owner to prove that it is being actively restored, and such proof may include receipts for the purchase of parts and supplies during the last sixty (60) days, which have been or are being installed in the vehicle.
CODE ENFORCEMENT OFFICER: The duly authorized person charged with enforcing the provisions of this chapter and this code, as designated by superintendent of waste management services.
ENCLOSED BUILDING: Any structure or portion thereof built for the enclosure of property containing a roof and having exterior walls of the structure or portion thereof constructed in such a manner as to obscure from any street or adjacent property the contents thereof.
JUNK MOTOR VEHICLE: Any unlicensed motor vehicle stored within the corporate limits of the city, and/or which has any of the following characteristics:
1. The vehicle has become the habitat of rats, mice, snakes or any other vermin or insects.
2. The vehicle lacks an engine or one or more wheels or tires or other structural parts which render said motor vehicle totally inoperable or unable to move under its own power.
3. The vehicle, because of its defective or obsolete condition, in any other way constitutes a threat to the public health or safety.
SPECIAL INTEREST VEHICLE: Any vehicle, other than a utility trailer, commercial vehicle, or recreational vehicle, which has been designed for, or modified for, personal hobbies such as track racing, off road driving or other similar activities, and which cannot be licensed for highway use.
UNLICENSED VEHICLE: Any vehicle that is required to be licensed if it is operated on a public street or highway, but which is not displaying a valid and current license. For the purposes of this chapter, a valid current license shall not be required of a vehicle that is stored in a fully enclosed structure. Vehicles registered with the treasurer's office as being "in storage" shall not constitute a valid and current license and any such vehicle must be stored in a fully enclosed structure, except as provided for a vehicle being actively restored.
VEHICLE: Every device in, upon or by which a person or property is or may be transported or drawn upon a highway or street, excepting devices moved by human power or used exclusively upon stationary rails or tracks, and shall include, without limitation, a motor vehicle, automobile, truck, trailer, motorcycle, tractor, buggy, wagon, farm machinery or any combination thereof.
B. Nuisance Declared: Except as hereinafter provided, it is hereby declared that the unlawful storage of a junk motor vehicle upon either public or private property within the corporate limits of the city constitutes a threat to the health and safety of the citizens and is a nuisance. If any junk motor vehicle is unlawfully stored upon private property in violation hereof, the owner of said vehicle and the owner of the property shall be liable for said violation.
C. Notice Of Violation: Upon discovery of any junk motor vehicle stored upon private property within the corporate limits of the city, the code enforcement officer shall notify the owner of the junk motor vehicle, all lienholders, if they can be identified, and the owner of the property by one of the following methods: 1) by delivering a copy of the notice to the individual personally; or 2) by serving, at the individual's dwelling house or usual place of abode, any person residing therein who is at least eighteen (18) years old; or 3) by serving the individual's spouse at a place other than the individual's dwelling house or usual place of abode; or 4) by sending a copy thereof by certified mail, return receipt requested; or 5) by sending a copy thereof by first class mail to the last known address of the recipient and by posting a copy thereof in a conspicuous place at the subject property. If mailed, then notice shall be deemed given when mailed. If notice by certified mail is returned undelivered by the U.S. post office, action to abate the nuisance shall be continued to a date not less than ten (10) days from the date the notice is returned. This notice shall contain the following information:
1. That the junk motor vehicle constitutes a nuisance under the provisions of this section;
2. A description, to the extent possible, of the year, make, model, color and location of the vehicle;
3. That the owner of the junk motor vehicle and/or property owner must remove the junk motor vehicle or correct the violation in accordance with this section;
4. That failure to comply with the provisions of this section within ten (10) days from the date of mailing of notice, the owner of the junk motor vehicle and the property owner shall be liable for the violation;
5. That the junk motor vehicle will be removed by the city and impounded at the owner's expense;
6. That if the junk motor vehicle is not redeemed within thirty (30) days after notice and impoundment, and no hearing is requested pursuant to the provisions of subsection H of this section, the owner of the junk motor vehicle, the property owner and the lienholders shall be deemed to have abandoned the vehicle and shall no longer have any right, title, claim or interest in or to the junk motor vehicle; and
7. That the persons to whom the notices are directed may request a hearing pursuant to the provision of subsection H of this section.
D. Abatement: If the owner of the vehicle or the owner of the property upon which the junk motor vehicle is located fails to remove or repair the vehicle in accordance with the terms of the provisions of this section, the code enforcement officer shall abate such nuisance by causing the junk motor vehicle to be removed and impounded and, unless the vehicle is redeemed, sold or disposed of as specified herein, and the cost of abatement shall be charged to the owner of the junk motor vehicle and/or the owner of the property.
E. Redemption Of Impounded Vehicle; Fees: Within thirty (30) days after the impoundment of any junk motor vehicle under this section, the owner thereof may appear and claim the same on proof of ownership and payment of an impoundment fee, and towing and storage charges, at which time the vehicle shall be released. If at the end of thirty (30) days, no owner claims the junk motor vehicle in the manner required by this subsection, the owner of the junk motor vehicle shall be deemed to have abandoned the vehicle and shall no longer have any right, title, claim or interest in or to the junk motor vehicle. During said period of impoundment, the impoundment facility upon which the junk motor vehicle is being stored shall be responsible for the vehicle.
F. Duty Of Owner To Remove Or Repair: The owner of a junk motor vehicle or property owner who violates the provisions of this section shall, within ten (10) days after receipt of the notice of violation, remove the junk motor vehicle to one of the areas provided in subsection G of this section, or repair the defects which caused such vehicle to violate the provisions of this section.
If a hearing is requested under subsection H of this section, the duty of the owner to remove or repair the junk vehicle shall be suspended pending the decision.
G. Exceptions: The terms and provisions of this section shall not apply to:
1. Any person or any agent thereof that is duly licensed by the city, as a salvage yard operator in full compliance with all of the ordinances of the city, and the laws of the state.
2. Any junk motor vehicle that is stored within an "enclosed building" as defined in this section.
3. Businesses or operators of businesses engaged in the towing, repairing or storing of junk motor vehicles, motor vehicles, construction or heavy industrial equipment or machinery, if the business is otherwise in full compliance with all ordinances of the city and the laws of the state.
4. Any junk vehicle that is either an antique (1972 model year or older) that is being actively restored or an operable special interest vehicle, or a special interest vehicle that is being actively restored, and in any case when stored in a rear or side yard and fully enclosed behind a solid fence at least six feet (6') in height that completely obscures a view of the vehicle from adjacent public or private property. None of the exceptions set forth in this subsection shall exempt a junk vehicle stored on a trailer, regardless of whether the trailer is licensed and operable, unless stored within an enclosed building.
H. Hearing:
1. Any person ordered to abate a nuisance or condition may request a hearing before a committee of the city council appointed by the mayor, or an official of the city designated by the committee of the city council, to determine whether a nuisance or prohibited condition exists.
2. A request for a hearing shall be made in writing and filed with the city clerk and the code enforcement officer within the ten (10) day limit, or:
a. The right to a hearing shall be considered waived, and
b. It will be conclusively presumed that the nuisance or prohibited condition exists and it must be abated as ordered.
3. The city clerk shall, within fifteen (15) days after the filing of the request for hearing, fix the time and place of hearing, which shall be within thirty (30) days of the filing of the request.
4. At the conclusion of the hearing, the committee of the city council, or its designee, shall render a written decision as to whether a nuisance exists. If a nuisance is found to exist, it shall be ordered abated within a reasonable time.
5. This decision shall be final.
I. Prima Facie Presumption: In any proceeding charging a violation of this section, proof that the particular vehicle described in the information was stored in violation of this section, together with proof that the defendant named in the information was the registered owner of the vehicle or the owner of the property on which said junk motor vehicle was unlawfully stored at the time of the alleged violation, shall constitute prima facie presumption that the registered vehicle owner and/or the property owner was the person violating this section or allowing the violation to occur.
J. Penalty: Any person violating this section or any provisions thereof, or who fails to comply with any order of the code enforcement officer or who interferes with or obstructs the code enforcement officer in his investigation shall be guilty of a simple misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof may be fined as provided in the general penalty in section 1-3-1 of this code. Each day that a violation occurs constitutes a separate offense.
K. Municipal Infraction: Violation of the provisions of this section may also be considered a municipal infraction, as provided in section 1-3-2 of this code. (Ord. 5286, 6-1-2015)