Red Bluff Municipal Code Art. IV Abandoned Vehicles

For the purpose of this article, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.

HIGHWAY. A way or place of whatever nature, publicly maintained and open to the use of the public for purposes of vehicular travel. HIGHWAY includes STREET.

PUBLIC PROPERTY. The term does not include “highway.”

VEHICLE. A device by which any person or property may be propelled, moved or drawn upon a highway, except a device moved by human power or used exclusively upon stationary rails or tracks.

(`61 Code, § 13.53) (Ord. 487, passed 2-11-1969)

The accumulation and storage of abandoned, wrecked, dismantled or inoperative vehicles or parts thereof an private or public property not including highways is hereby found to create a condition tending to reduce the value of private property, to promote blight and deterioration, to invite plundering, to create fire hazards, to constitute an attractive nuisance creating a hazard to the health and safety of minors, to create a harborage far rodents and insects and to be injurious to the health, safety and general welfare. Therefore the presence of an abandoned, wrecked, dismantled or inoperative vehicle or part thereof, on private or public property not including highways, except as expressly hereinafter permitted, is hereby declared to constitute a public nuisance which may be abated as such in accordance with the provisions of this article.

(`61 Code, § 13.54) (Ord. 487, passed 2-11-1969)

(A) This article shall not apply to:

(1) A vehicle or part thereof which is completely enclosed within a building in a lawful manner where it is not visible from the street or other public or private property;

(2) A vehicle or part thereof which is stored or parked in a lawful manner on private property in connection with the business of a licensed dismantler, licensed vehicle dealer, a junk dealer or when the storage or parking is necessary to the operation of a lawfully conducted business or commercial enterprise; or

(3) A vehicle or part thereof which is located behind a solid fence six feet in height or which is not plainly visible from a highway.

(B) Nothing in this section shall authorize the maintenance of a public or private nuisance as defined under provisions of law.

(`61 Code, § 13.55) (Ord. 487, passed 2-11-1969; Am. Ord. 934, passed 6-18-2002)

This article is not the exclusive regulation of abandoned, wrecked, dismantled or inoperative vehicles within the city. It shall supplement and be in addition to the other regulatory codes, statutes and ordinances heretofore or hereafter enacted by the city, the state or any other legal entity or agency having jurisdiction.

(`61 Code, § 13.56) (Ord. 487, passed 2-11-1969)

Except as otherwise provided herein, the provisions of this article shall be administered and enforced by the Building Official. In the enforcement of this article, the officer and his or her deputies may enter upon private or public property to examine a vehicle or parts thereof or obtain information as to the identity of a vehicle and to remove or cause the removal of a vehicle or part thereof declared to be a nuisance pursuant to this article.

(`61 Code, § 13.57) (Ord. 487, passed 2-11-1969)

When the City Council has contracted with or granted a franchise to any person, the person shall be authorized to enter upon private property or public property to remove or cause the removal of a vehicle or parts thereof declared to be a nuisance pursuant to this article.

(`61 Code, § 13.58) (Ord. 487, passed 2-11-1969)

Not less than a ten-day notice of intention to abate and remove the vehicle or parts thereof as a public nuisance shall be given. The notice shall contain a statement of the hearing rights of the owner of the property on which the vehicle is located and the owner of the vehicle and their liability for costs if removal is ordered. The statement shall include notice to the property owner that he or she may appear in person at a hearing or may present a sworn, written statement denying responsibility for the presence of the vehicle on the land, with his or her reasons for the denial, in lieu of appearing. The notice of intention to abate shall be mailed, by certified mail, to the owner of the land as shown on the last equalized assessment roll and to the last registered and legal owner of record unless the vehicle is in the condition that identification numbers are not available to determine ownership.

(`61 Code, § 13.59) (Ord. 508, passed 2-2-1971)

A public hearing shall be held before the City Council upon request for a hearing by the owner of the vehicle or the owner of the land on which the vehicle was located. This request shall be made to the Building Official within ten days after the mailing of notice of intention to abate and remove the vehicle. If the owner of the land on which the vehicle is located submits a sworn written statement denying responsibility for the presence of the vehicle on his or her land within the time period, this statement shall be construed as a request for hearing which does not require the presence of the owner submitting the request. If a request is not received within the period, the Building Official shall have the authority to remove the vehicle.

(`61 Code, § 13.60) (Ord. 508, passed 2-2-1971)

(A) All hearings under this article shall be held before the City Council which shall hear all facts and testimony it deems pertinent. The facts and testimony may include testimony on the condition of the vehicle or parts thereof and the circumstances concerning its location on the private property or public property. The City Council shall not be limited by the technical rules of evidence. The owner of the land on which the vehicles located may appear in person at the hearing or present a written statement in time for consideration at the hearing, and deny responsibility for the presence of the vehicle on the land, with his or her reasons for the denial.

(B) The City Council may impose the conditions and take the other action as it deems appropriate under the circumstances to carry out the purpose of this article. It may delay the time for removal of the vehicle or part thereof if, in its opinion, the circumstances justify it. At the conclusion of the public hearing, the City Council may find that a vehicle or part thereof has been abandoned, wrecked, dismantled or is inoperative on private or public property and order the same removed from the property as a public nuisance and disposed of as hereinafter provided and determine the administrative costs and the cost of removal to be charged against the owner of the parcel of land on which the vehicle or part thereof is located. The order requiring removal shall include a description of the vehicle or part thereof and the correct identification number and license number of the vehicle, if available at the site.

(C) If it is determined at the hearing that the vehicle was placed on the land without the consent of the landowner and that he or she has not subsequently acquiesced in its presence, the City Council 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 landowner.

(D) If an interested party makes a written presentation to the City Council, but does not appear, he or she shall be notified in writing of the decision.

(`61 Code, § 13.61) (Ord. 487, passed 2-11-1969)

(A) Five days after adoption of the order declaring the vehicle or parts thereof to be a public nuisance, or five days from the date of mailing of notice of the decision if the notice is required by § 13.60, the vehicle or parts thereof may be disposed of by removal to a scrap yard or automobile dismantler’s yard.

(B) After a vehicle has been removed, it shall not thereafter be reconstructed or made operable, unless it is a vehicle which qualifies for either horseless carriage license plates or historical vehicle license plates, pursuant to the rules and regulations of the California Department of Motor Vehicles.

(`61 Code, § 13.62) (Ord. 487, passed 2-11-1969; Am. Ord. 593, passed 11- 15-1977; Am. Ord. 934, passed 6-18-2002)

Within five days after the date of removal of the vehicle or part thereof, notice shall be given to the Department of Motor Vehicles identifying the vehicle or part thereof removed. At the same time there shall be transmitted to the Department of Motor Vehicles any evidence of registration available, including registration certificates, certificates of title and license plates.

(`61 Code, § 13.63) (Ord. 487, passed 2-11-1969)

If the administrative costs and the cost of removal which are charged against the owner of a parcel of land pursuant to § 13.60 are not paid within 30 days of the date of the order, or the final disposition of an appeal therefrom, the costs shall be assessed against the parcel of land pursuant to California Government Code § 38773.5 and shall be transmitted to the Tax Collector for collection. The assessment shall have the same priority as other city taxes.

(`61 Code, § 13.64) (Ord. 487, passed 2-11-1969)