Chapter 10.24
ABANDONED VEHICLES
Sections:
Article I. Private Property
10.24.010 Prohibited – Exceptions.
10.24.030 Abatement – Notice – Contents.
10.24.040 Abatement – Notice – Mailed to whom.
10.24.050 Abatement – Hearing – City council determines date and place.
10.24.060 Abatement – Hearing – Property owner’s statement.
10.24.070 Abatement – Removal procedure.
10.24.080 Provisions – Authorization.
Article II. Public Property
10.24.110 Presumption of abandonment – Determination.
10.24.120 Presumption of abandonment – Additional factors – Exception.
10.24.130 Abatement – Procedure – Duties designated.
10.24.140 Violation – Misdemeanor.
10.24.150 Provisions – Authorization.
Prior legislation: Ord. 362.
Article I. Private Property
10.24.010 Prohibited – Exceptions.
(1) No person shall abandon any vehicle or vehicle hulk within the city. The chief of police of the city is hereby authorized to declare a public nuisance any abandoned vehicle or vehicle hulk or part thereof on private property, not including highways, within the city. Subject to a contrary determination at a public hearing, such vehicle or hulk shall be removed and impounded at the direction of the chief of police. Removal shall be executed by a registered disposer who qualifies pursuant to RCW 46.52.108.
(2) WMC 10.24.010 through 10.24.080 shall not apply to:
(A) A vehicle or part thereof which is completely enclosed within any building or other enclosure in a lawful manner, or where it is not otherwise visible from the street or other public or private property; or
(B) A vehicle or part thereof which is stored or parked in a lawful manner upon private property in connection with a business of a licensed dismantler or vehicle dealer, fenced according to the provisions of RCW 46.80.130. (Ord. 484 § 1, 1975)
10.24.020 Definitions.
The following definitions shall apply in the interpretation and enforcement of WMC 10.24.010 through 10.24.080:
(1) “Abandoned vehicle” means any vehicle left upon the property of a person other than the registered or legal owner of the vehicle without the consent of the owner of such property for a period of 24 hours or longer, except a vehicle shall not be considered abandoned if its owner or operator is unable to remove it from the place where it is located and so notifies law enforcement officials and requests assistance.
(2) “Vehicle hulk” means the remnant or remains of an automobile, truck, or other motor vehicle which is wrecked, dismantled or inoperative and cannot be made mechanically operative without the addition of vital parts or mechanisms and the application of a substantial amount of labor to effect repair. (Ord. 484 § 2, 1975)
10.24.030 Abatement – Notice – Contents.
Before abatement and removal of any such vehicle or hulk or part thereof from private property, the chief of police shall give notice to the last registered owner of record and the property owner of record that a public hearing may be requested before the city council and that if no hearing is requested within 20 days from the date of receipt of such notice, the vehicle or hulk or part thereof described in said notice will be abated and removed by the city and the costs of such abatement and removal collected from the last registered owner of such vehicle or vehicle hulk if the identity of such owner can be determined, unless such owner in the transfer of ownership of such vehicle or vehicle hulk has complied with RCW 46.52.104, or the costs may be assessed against the owner of the property on which the vehicle is stored. (Ord. 484 § 3, 1975)
10.24.040 Abatement – Notice – Mailed to whom.
The notices provided for in WMC 10.24.030 through 10.24.050 shall be mailed by certified or registered mail, with a five-day return requested, to the owner of the property on which such vehicle or hulk or part thereof is located, as shown on the last equalized assessed roll and, if identification numbers are available to determine ownership, to the last registered and legal owner of record of such vehicle or hulk or part thereof. (Ord. 484 § 3, 1975)
10.24.050 Abatement – Hearing – City council determines date and place.
Upon receipt of any such request for public hearing, the city council shall by resolution set a date for public hearing on the questions of abatement and removal of the vehicle or hulk or part thereof as a public nuisance and shall cause to be given 20 days’ notice of the time, location and date of such hearing. (Ord. 484 § 3, 1975)
10.24.060 Abatement – Hearing – Property owner’s statement.
The owner of the property upon which any such vehicle or hulk or part thereof is located may appear at such hearing in person, or may timely present a written statement for consideration at such hearing, and may deny responsibility for the presence of such vehicle or hulk or part thereof on such property, giving reasons for such denial.
If it is determined at such hearing that said vehicle or hulk or part thereof was placed on such property without the consent of the property owner and that he has not subsequently acquiesced to its presence, the city shall not assess costs of administration or removal of the vehicle against the property upon which the vehicle is located or otherwise attempt to collect such costs from the owner. (Ord. 484 § 4, 1974)
10.24.070 Abatement – Removal procedure.
Twenty days after receipt of the notice of the city’s intent to abate and remove any such nuisance, or after a public hearing, if such is requested, at which the chief of police’s determination of nuisance has been affirmed, the chief of police shall cause such vehicle or hulk or part thereof to be removed and disposed of to a licensed auto wrecker and shall give notice to the Washington State Patrol and Washington State Department of Motor Vehicles that such vehicle or hulk or part thereof has been wrecked, and the proceeds of such disposition shall be used to defray the cost of abatement and removal of any such vehicle, hulk or part thereof, including the cost of administration. (Ord. 484 § 5, 1974)
10.24.080 Provisions – Authorization.
The ordinance codified in WMC 10.24.010 through 10.24.080 is enacted pursuant to the authority granted by Section 12, Chapter 42, Laws of 1969, of the state of Washington, Extraordinary Session. (Ord. 484 § 6, 1974)
Article II. Public Property
10.24.090 Prohibited.
No person shall abandon any vehicle or vehicle hulk on any property of the city within or without the corporate limits, and no person shall leave any vehicle at any place on city property within the corporate limits for such time and under such circumstances as to cause such vehicle reasonably to appear to have been abandoned. (Ord. 485 § 1, 1975)
10.24.100 Definitions.
The following definitions apply in the interpretation and enforcement of the provisions in WMC 10.24.090 through 10.24.150:
(1) “Abandoned vehicle” means any vehicle left within the limits of any highway or upon the property of another without the consent of the owner of such property for a period of 24 hours or longer, except that a vehicle shall not be considered abandoned if its owner or operator is unable to remove it from the place where it is located and so notifies law enforcement officials and requests assistance.
(2) “Abandoned vehicle hulk” means the abandoned remnant or remains of a motor vehicle which is inoperable and cannot be made mechanically operative without the addition of vital parts or mechanisms and the application of a substantial amount of labor to effect repairs.
(3) “Person” means any natural person, firm, partnership, association, corporation, company or organization of any kind.
(4) “Vehicle” includes every device capable of being moved upon a public highway and in, upon, or by which any person or property is or may be transported or drawn upon a public highway, excepting devices moved by human or animal power or used exclusively upon stationary rails or tracks.
(5) “Street” or “highway” means the entire width between the boundary lines of every right-of-way publicly maintained or usually traveled upon by the general public, when any part thereof is open to the use of the public for purposes of vehicular travel.
(6) “Property” means any property within the city or any city property within or without the corporate limits which is not a street or highway. (Ord. 485 § 2, 1975)
10.24.110 Presumption of abandonment – Determination.
A vehicle shall be presumed to have been abandoned and constitute a nuisance if it remains in the same position on a public street or other property open to the public for purposes of vehicular travel or parking or upon or within the right-of-way of any road or highway for a period of 72 hours after a notice to remove is posted upon such vehicle and no person has appeared to show good cause why the vehicle should not be removed. (Ord. 485 § 3, 1975)
10.24.120 Presumption of abandonment – Additional factors – Exception.
The provisions contained in WMC 10.24.110 shall likewise be applied to any partially dismantled, inoperative, wrecked or junked vehicle on any street, alley, or public thoroughfare within the real property within the city limits; provided, however, that this section shall not apply to vehicles stored or parked in a publicly licensed wrecking or junk yard in accordance with ordinances, rules and regulations of the city governing the same. (Ord. 485 § 4, 1975)
10.24.130 Abatement – Procedure – Duties designated.
It shall be the duty of the chief of police or his authorized representative to remove and impound any vehicle from city property which constitutes a nuisance as set forth in WMC 10.24.110 through 10.24.120. If that vehicle, or any impounded vehicle, remains unclaimed for a period of 15 days, it shall be deemed an abandoned vehicle. At the expiration of such period the vehicle shall be deemed to be in the custody of the chief of police of the city where said vehicle is located. The chief of police of the city shall deliver the vehicle to a registered disposer who shall dispose of such vehicle in the manner provided in RCW 46.52.111 and 46.52.112; provided, that if such vehicle is of a model 10 or more years prior to the calendar year in which such vehicle is stored, the chief of police may declare that such vehicle is a public nuisance and may dispose of such vehicle without notice of sale, and in such case, he may request the director of motor vehicles to issue an appropriate bill of sale to the registered disposer to dispose of the vehicle as he may determine. (Ord. 485 § 5, 1975)
10.24.140 Violation – Misdemeanor.
A violation of WMC 10.24.090 through 10.24.130 is a misdemeanor punishable upon conviction thereof by a fine not to exceed $100.00 and costs to the city of disposing of such motor vehicle, less any money accrued to the city from such disposal. (Ord. 485 § 6, 1975)
10.24.150 Provisions – Authorization.
The ordinance codified in WMC 10.24.090 through 10.24.150 is enacted pursuant to the authority granted by Section 11, Chapter 42, Laws of 1969 of the state of Washington, Extraordinary Session. (Ord. 485 § 7, 1975)