ARTICLE V. AUTOMOBILE WRECKERS

26-316 License required.

Any person who stores, wrecks or dismantles wrecked, disabled or inoperable motor vehicles or trailers or motor vehicle salvage materials anywhere within the city must obtain a license from the city to operate as an automobile wrecker.

(Code 1985, § 8-39)

26-317 Exemption.

Any person licensed as a scrap iron and metal processor shall be exempted from the provisions of this article.

(Code 1985, § 8-40)

26-318 Fencing or walls required.

(a)    All automobile wrecking business shall be carried on, maintained or conducted entirely with the premises enclosed, except gates or doors for ingress and egress, by a masonry wall, metal-faced fence or other opaque material which is approved by the administrator on the basis that it is equivalent in strength and durability to masonry or metal-faced material, and is at least seven feet in height above the existing grade. Gates for access to the premises shall swing inward and such gates shall be closed when the premises are not open for business.

(b)    All walls or fences enclosing the automobile wrecking business shall be maintained in a neat and structurally substantial condition and free from defects, damage or defacing in any manner. The structural supports of all fences shall be placed on the inside thereof. Barbed wire may be installed on the top of walls or fences on arms or supports projecting over the private property side only, and at least seven feet above the adjacent grade. No stored, wrecked, disabled or inoperable motor vehicles or trailers, or salvage materials shall be permitted to be placed less than three feet from the base of the enclosing walls or fence under any circumstances. Stored equipment or material shall be placed so that the topmost part of the pile is away from the enclosing walls or fence a distance at least equal to the pile’s maximum height, plus the required setback, and in no case shall the stored equipment or material be placed in such a way to present a danger of collapsing beyond the enclosing walls or fence.

(c)    No materials shall be permitted to be outside of, or attached to, or suspended on, the walls or fence enclosing the automobile wrecking business.

(d)    Walls and fences shall be subject to continued inspection by the administrator. Any failure to properly maintain the fence or wall shall be good cause for revocation of a license under this article.

(Code 1985, § 8-41)

26-319 Premises to be kept clean and sanitary; burning prohibited.

All premises used for storage and business purposes shall be kept and maintained in a clean, sanitary and neat condition, and free from rat and vermin infestation and fire hazards. No rubbish, debris, parts or other accumulations shall be burned on the premises.

(Code 1985, § 8-42)

26-320 Depositing materials in public ways.

No person shall make use of any street, sidewalk or other part of the highway, or any other property not in his lawful possession, for the storage, depositing or display of any of the materials or items listed in section 26-316.

(Code 1985, § 8-43)

26-321 Burning vehicles prohibited.

No person shall burn out the interior of any motor vehicle or trailer. All such practices are declared to be a nuisance.

(Code 1985, § 8-44)

26-322 Violations declared nuisance; abatement procedure.

(a)    Any practice or activity prohibited by this article is declared to be a nuisance and is deemed to be detrimental to the health, safety and welfare of the inhabitants of the city.

(b)    No person shall cause or permit any salvage materials, including but not limited to scrap metal, junk, scrap lumber, wastepaper products, discarded building materials, used, damaged or disabled machinery or machinery parts, or abandoned, disabled, inoperable or wrecked motor vehicles or trailers; or any waste materials, to be in or upon a yard, garden, lawn, vacant lot, gasoline service station, or other premises in the city for a continuous period of seven days unless in conjunction with or under authority of a license issued under this article, or unless in conjunction with the use of reclaimed building materials being used in construction work conducted on the premises pursuant to a building permit in effect and issued by the city. A violation of this section for a continuous period of seven days is hereby declared to be a nuisance.

(c)    As a means of abating a nuisance under this article, written notice of the violation shall be given to the owner of record or occupant of the premises, personally if they are reasonably available for such service, or by certified mail, or by posting a notice in a prominent place on the premises where the violation is occurring and/or upon the wrecked, disabled or inoperable vehicle, if such is the case. The notice shall contain the address of the premises and the items located thereon, the nature of the violation and the corrective action to be taken to abate the nuisance. The time limit for abatement of such nuisance shall not exceed seven days from the time the notice is posted or served. The notice shall further provide that if such nuisance is not abated within such seven-day period, the city will enter upon the premises and abate the nuisance.

(d)    If, upon the expiration of the time limit in the notice, the nuisance has not been abated in accordance with the requirements thereof, legal measures for the abatement of the nuisance, including but not limited to the following, may be taken:

(1)    The administrator may enter upon the property on which the nuisance exists and may remove all materials enumerated in this section constituting a nuisance under this article.

(2)    The administrator shall, within two days from the date of removal or abatement of such nuisance, give notice to the owner or occupant of the premises upon which the nuisance existed, by certified mail or by posting on the property, of the fact of such removal, a description of the property removed, and the location where the material is held. The notice shall further provide that the owner of the property shall have five days in which to file a written protest to such removal with the administrator.

(3)    If no protest is received by the administrator within five days from the service of notice as provided for in subsection (d)(2) of this section, the material held by the city shall be deemed abandoned and the city is authorized to dispose of such items according to law.

(e)    If an owner or occupant of private property denies admission to his premises for the purpose of abating a nuisance under this article, as provided in this section, the administrator may apply to the district court or other court of competent jurisdiction for a complaint and warrant charging a violation under this article.

(f)    If the owner of removed material shall file a protest as required by this article, the city shall not dispose of such material, but shall immediately file a complaint with the district court for violation of the provisions of this article. If a violation of this article was found not to have occurred, such material shall be returned to the owner within a reasonable time. The district court or other court of competent jurisdiction may make any other disposition of such property within its power.

(g)    Nothing contained in this article shall interfere with the right of the city to enforce every other ordinance or law pertaining to the subject matter of this article. All violations enumerated in this article which occur on the public highway or upon premises owned or occupied by the city may be dealt with according to law and may be immediately abated by the city.

(Code 1985, § 8-45)

26-323—26-370. Reserved.