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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1394 Wrecked/Abandoned Vehicles . . ~ ;' '" '- ORDINANCE NO. JJ9~ An ordinance relating to wrecked, junked, dismantled, abandoned and unlicensed motor vehicles; prohibiting the storage, repair or dismantling thereof on public or private property; declaring the same to be a nuisance; providing for the abatement of such nuisance; providing for the impounding and disposition of certain vehicles; providing penalties for the violation of this ordinance; and repeal- ing Ordinance No. 1233. WHEREAS, in the City of Ashland, motor vehicles are, or may in the future be, dismantled, partially dismantled, wrecked, junked, nonoperating or discarded or left about the city, other than in jUnk yards or other appropriate places, and WHEREAS, such conditions tend to impede traffic in the streets or interfere with the enjoyment of, and reduce the value of, private property; invite plundering; create fire hazards and other safety and health hazards to children, as well as adults; interfere with the comfort and well-being of the public; and create, extend, and aggravate urban blight, and WHEREAS, adequate protection of the public health, safety, and welfare requires that such conditions be regulated, abated or prohibi ted, NOW, THEREFORE, THE PEOPLE OF THE CITY OF ASHLAND DO ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. It shall be unlawful to park, store, or leave, or permit the parking or storing of any licensed or unlicensed motor vehicle of any kind for a period of time in excess of 72 hours, which is in a rusted or wrecked or junked or partially dismantled or inoperative or abandoned condition, whether attended or not, upon any public or private property within the City of Ashland, unless the same is completely enclosed within a building or unless it is in connection with a business enterprise, lawfully licensed by the city, and -1- Ii , , \ properly operated in the appropriate business zone, pursuant to the zoning laws of the City of Ashland; and a violation of this ordinance shall be a misdemeanor. Section 2. The accumulation and storage of one or more of such vehicles, as hereinbefore defined, on public or private property shall consti- tute rubbish and unsightly debr~~ and a nuisance, detrimental to the health, safety, and welfare of the inhabitants of the City of Ashland, and it shall be the duty of the registered owner,of such vehicle, and it shall also be the duty of the owner of the private property, or the lessee or other person in possession of the private property upOn which such vehicle is located, to remove the same from the City of Ashland or to have the same housed in a building where it will not be visible from the street. Section 3. It shall be the duty of the Chief of Police or Building Inspector of the 'City of Ashland to give written notice to the registered owner of any motor vehicle which is in violation of this-ordinance, as described in Section 1, or to give such notice to the owner or lessee of the private land upon which such motor vehicle is situated, giving notice that said vehicle violates this ordinance and demanding that said motor vehicle be removed from the City of AShland within 72 hours, or that within 72 hours the same be housed in a building where it will not be visible from the street. Said notice may be given by personal service or by registered mail, with return, receipt requested. Written notice sent to the last known address of the registered owner of a vehicle or the owner or lessee of real property shall be suffi- cient. Section 4. If the notice is given, as provided in Section 3, and the person -2- I - upon Whom said notice and demand is made shall fail to remove said vehicle or vehicles, as the case may be, or shall fail to cause the same to be housed in a building Where it will not be visible from the street, then said person shall be in violation of this ordinance, and upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine not exceed~ ing $200.00, or by imprisonment in the county jail for a term not exceeding 30 days, or by both such fine and imprisonment. Section 5. As an alternate procedure, the Chief of Police or Building Inspector may, after giving the notice required by Section 3 and after waiting 72 hours, cause the vehicle .or vehicles to be removed by a city truck or by a commercial tow truck to a commercial garage, an automobile wrecking yard, or any other suitable place for storage of the vehicle as may be designated by the Chief of Police or Building Inspector; and within 48 hours after the removal and storage of such vehicle by the Chief of Police or Building Inspector, he shall give notice in the. manner prescribed in Section 3 of this ordinance to the registered owner of such vehicle, and also to the owner, lessee, or person in possession of the land from which the vehicle was removed, that said vehicle or vehicles have been impounded and stored for violation of this ordinance; and said notice shall include the loca- tion of the place Where the vehicle or vehicles are stored, the costs incurred by the city for the removal or towing, and the. storage charges accruing, Which shall not exceed $1.00 per day, and that, if said charges are not paid in full to the City Recorder within 10 days immediately following the giving of such notice, said vehicle or vehicles shall be deemed to have been abandoned and will thereafter be discarded as junk or may, in the discretion of the Chief of Police or Building Inspector, be sold as hereinafter stated. -3- '"- I l , Section 6. If the owner cannot be identified after compliance with Sec- tion 3, or no claim is made by a notified owner within the time specified by Section 5 of this ordinance, the Chief of police or Building Inspector shall cause to be published in a newspaper of general circulation within the city a notice of sale. The notice of sale shall state: (a) The sale is of abandoned property in possession of the city. (b) A descr~ption of the'vehicle, including the type, make, motor number, serial number, and any other information which will aid in accurately identifying the vehicle. (c) The terms of the sale. (d) The date, time, and place of the sale. The notice of sale shall be published one time not less than ten (10) days prior to the date of the proposed sale. Section 7. An owner may redeem a vehicle impounded under the provisions of this ordinance, before a sale has taken place, by applying to the Police Department, whereupon he shall: (a) Submit evidence of his ownership or interest in the vehicle, satisfactory to the Chief of Police or Building Inspector, that such claim is rightful, and (b) pay the costs due and OWing at the time the applica- tionto redeem is made. upon cOmpli~~ce with the foregoing, the Chief of Police or Building Inspector shall execute a receipt for the owner and cause the vehicle to be returned to him. Section 8. , . If no claim shall have been made to redeem an impounded vehicle -4- / - before the time set for the sale of such vehicle, the Chief of Police or Building Inspector shall hold a sale at the time and place appointed within the vie~ of the vehicle to be sold. The vehicle shall be sold to the highest and best bidder, providing that if no bids are entered, or those bids which are entered are less than the costs incurred by the city, the Chief of Police or Building Inspector shall enter ,a bid on behalf of the city in an amount equal to such costs. The proceeds of such sale shall be applied: (a) To the payment of costs incurred by the city, and (b) The balance, if any, shall be transferred to the City Treasurer of the city to be credited to the General Fund. Section 9. At the time of payment of the purchase price, the Chief of Police or BUilding Inspector shall execute a certificate of sale in duplicate, the original of which shall be delivered to the purchaser and the copy thereof filed with the City Recorder of the city. The certificate of sale shall be substantially as follows: CERTIFICATE OF SALE This is to certify that under the provisions of Ordinance No. . . entitled "An Ordinance for the Impounding and Disposition of Abandoned Vehicles" and pursuant to due notice of the time and place of sale, I did on the day of """,.. ., 19-=.....:....:., sell at public auction to' . . . . . . '. for the sum of $ . . . - . . "cash, he being the highest and best bidder, and that being the highest and best sum bid therefor, the following described personal property, to-wit: , (brief description of the property) And in consideration of the payment of the said sum of $ . - , , receipt whereof is hereby acknowledged, I have this day delivered to said purchaser the foregoing property. Dated this day of, , 19-.:....:.. -5- i I I, .-." -.... , .---- Note: The City of Ashland assumes no responsibility as to the condition of title of the above described property. In case this sale shall for any reason be invalid, the liability of the City is. limited to the return of the purchase price. Section 10. upon such sale being consummated the Chief of Police or Building Inspector shall deliver the vehicle and the certificate of sale to the purchaser. Such sale and conveyance shall be without redemption. , Section 11. If any vehicle is impounded and stored by the Chief of Police or Building Inspector, under the provisions of this ordinance or any other ordinance of the city or pursuant to any other lawful authority of the police Department, said vehicle shall not be released by the appointed keeper thereof until all/chargeS con- nected with the removal, towing, and storage,of such vehicle have been fully paid, as evidenced by the City Recorder's paid receipt. Section 12. It shall be unlawful to disassemble, construct, reconstruct, repair and/or service motor vehicles of any kind in or upon any street, road, alley, or public thoroughfare in the City of Ashland or in the yard of any resident, except for emergency service; pro- vided that said emergency service shall not extend over a period of 72 hours, except when required to be made in a street, road, alley, , or public thoroughfare, in which case said emergency service shall not extend over a period of two hours and does not interfere with or impede the flow of traffic. The violation of this section shall also constitute a public nuisance, and a misdemeanor, which shall be punishable upon conviction by a fine not exceeding $200.00, or by imprisonment in the city jail for a term not exceeding 30 days, or by both such fine and imprisonment. , -6- , , -. -=-- / \ , Section 13. That Ordinance NO. 1233 be, and the same hereby is, repealed. The foregoing ordinance was duly passed, under a suspension of the rules, at a regular meeting of the Common Council held on the . -jll$.. day of May, 1965, the vote being as follows: Ayes' .,3 Nays - . . 0 Approved: . (/f/~t~d Maybr To all of which I hereby certify: ..--.~~4~ Recorder