San Leandro Municipal Code Art. 3 Procedure

(a) A 10 days notice of intention to abate and remove a vehicle or part thereof as a public nuisance shall be mailed by registered or certified mail to the owner of the land as shown on the last equalized assessment roll and to the last registered and legal owners of record unless the vehicle or part thereof is in such condition that identification numbers are not available to determine ownership. No such notice shall be required if the property owner and the owner of the vehicle or part thereof have signed releases authorizing removal and waiving further interest in the vehicle or part thereof. Such notice shall contain a statement of the hearing rights of the owner of the property on which the vehicle or part thereof is located and the owner of the vehicle. The statement shall include notice to the property owner of his or her option under Section 6-4-315.

(b) Notice of intention to abate, as provided in subsection (a), is not required for removal of a vehicle or part thereof which is inoperable due to the absence of a motor, transmission, or wheels and incapable of being towed, is valued at less than Two hundred dollars by a person specified in California Vehicle Code § 22855, and is determined by the City Manager to be a public nuisance presenting an immediate threat to public health or safety, provided that the property owner has signed a release authorizing removal and waiving further interest in the vehicle or part thereof. The City Manager shall not dispose of any such vehicle under California Vehicle Code § 22662 unless he or she shall have provided notice to the registered and legal owners of intent to dispose of the vehicle or part, and the vehicle or part is not claimed and removed within 12 days after the notice is mailed.

Upon request by the owner of the vehicle or part thereof or the owner of the land on which such vehicle or part thereof is located, delivered to the City Manager within 10 days after the mailing of notice of intention to abate and remove the vehicle or part thereof, a public hearing shall be held by the City Manager to determine whether the vehicle or part thereof shall be abated and removed as a public nuisance and whether the administrative costs and the costs of abatement and removal shall be assessed against the land.. A sworn written statement of the owner of the land denying responsibility for the presence of the vehicle or part thereof on his or her land shall be construed as a request for hearing.

The City Manager shall set a date for the public hearing and shall deliver notice thereof to the persons and in the manner specified in Section 6-4-300 not less than 10 days prior to such date.

The owner of the land on which the vehicle or part thereof is located may appear in person at the hearing or present a sworn written statement denying responsibility for the presence of the vehicle or part thereof on the land, with his or her reasons for such denial.

If it is determined at the hearing that the vehicle or part thereof 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 Manager shall not assess costs of administration or abatement and removal against the land or otherwise attempt to collect such costs from such owner.

If releases have been signed pursuant to Section 6-4-300, or if a request pursuant to Section 6-4-305 is not received, or if the City Manager after hearing determines that the vehicle or part thereof constitutes a public nuisance, the City Manager or other duly authorized person shall abate and remove the vehicle or part thereof from the land in accordance with the provisions of California Vehicle Code §§ 22660 et seq., except as otherwise provided in Sections 6-4-330, 6-4-335 and 6-4-340. After a vehicle has been abated and removed, it shall not 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 § 5004 of the Vehicle Code of the State of California, in which case the vehicle may be reconstructed or made operable.

The owner of the land upon which the vehicle or part thereof is located or the owner of the vehicle or part thereof may appeal the determination after hearing of the City Manager to the City Council by filing written notice thereof with the City Clerk within five days after having received notice of such determination from the City Manager. If such a notice is filed, the City Council shall hold a public hearing thereon.

The City Clerk shall set a date for the public hearing on appeal and shall deliver notice thereof to the persons and in the manner specified in Section 6-4-300 not less than five days prior to such date.

The City Council shall hold a public hearing de novo on the appeal. The City Council shall succeed to and may exercise all powers otherwise vested in the City Manager by this Chapter. The determination of the City Council shall be final.

Except as provided in Section 6-4-320, the costs of administration and removal may be assessed against the land from which the vehicle or part thereof was abated and removed, to be collected at the same time and in the same manner as ordinary City taxes are collected, and shall be subject to the same penalties and the same procedure and sale in case of delinquency as provided for ordinary City taxes. All laws applicable to the levy, collection and enforcement of City taxes shall be applicable to such assessment.

Within five days after abatement and removal, notice shall be given to the Department of Motor Vehicles identifying the vehicle or part thereof. Any evidence of registration available, including, but not limited to, the registration card, certificates of ownership, and license plates, shall be transmitted together with such notice.