Tracy Municipal Code Art. 8 Removal of Abandoned, Wrecked, Dismantled, or Inoperative Vehicles from…

In addition to and in accordance with the determination made and the authority granted by the State pursuant to the provisions of Section 22660 of the Vehicle Code of the State to remove abandoned, wrecked, dismantled, or inoperative vehicles, or parts thereof, as public nuisances, the Council hereby makes the following findings and declarations:

The accumulation and storage of abandoned, wrecked, dismantled, or inoperative vehicles, or parts thereof, on 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 for 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 permitted by the provisions of this Article, is hereby declared to constitute a public nuisance which may be abated as such in accordance with the provisions of this Article.

(Prior code § 4-3.901)

For the purposes of this Article, unless otherwise apparent from the context, certain words and phrases used in this Article are defined as follows:

(a) "Highway" shall mean a way or place of whatever nature, publicly maintained and open to the use of the public for the purposes of vehicular travel. "Highway" shall include "street".

(b) "Public property" shall not include "highway".

(c) "Vehicle" shall mean 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.

(Prior code § 4-3.902)

The provisions of this Article shall not apply to:

(a) 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; or

(b) 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 such storage or parking is necessary to the operation of a lawfully conducted business or commercial enterprise.

The provisions of this section shall not authorize the maintenance of a public or private nuisance as defined pursuant to provisions of law other than Chapter 10 (commencing with Section 22650) of Division 11 of the Vehicle Code of the State and this Article.

(Prior code § 4-3.903)

The provisions of this Article are not the exclusive regulation of abandoned, wrecked, dismantled, or inoperative vehicles within the City. The provisions of this Article shall supplement and be in addition to the other regulatory Codes, statutes, and laws heretofore or hereafter enacted by the City, the State, or any other legal entity or agency having jurisdiction.

(Prior code § 4-3.904)

Except as otherwise provided in this Article, the provisions of this Article shall be administered and enforced by the City Manager or his designee. In the enforcement of the provisions of this Article, such officer and his designees 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 parts thereof, declared to be a nuisance pursuant to the provisions of this Article.

(Ord. 1033 § 1, 2002: Prior code § 4-3.905)

When the Council has contracted with or granted a franchise to any person, such 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 the provisions of this Article.

(Prior code § 4-3.906)

The Council shall from time to time determine and fix an amount to be assessed as administrative costs (excluding the actual cost of the removal of any vehicle, or parts thereof) for the purposes of administering the provisions of this Article.

(Prior code § 4-4.907)

(a) Unless both the property owner and the registered owner of the vehicle have signed releases authorizing removal and waiving further interest in the vehicle or part thereof, the City Manager's designee shall, at least ten (10) working days prior to abating and removing any vehicle as a public nuisance, send and post on the vehicle, a ten (10) calendar-day notice of intention to abate and remove the vehicle or part thereof as a public nuisance. The notice of intention to abate 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 is in such condition that identification numbers are not available to determine ownership. Such notice of intention to abate shall include notice to the property owner that he or she may appear in person at a hearing or may submit a sworn written statement denying responsibility for the presence of the vehicle on the land, with his or her reasons for such denial, in lieu of appearing. Such notice of intention to abate shall also include a copy of this Code section.

(b) Upon request for a public hearing by the owner of the vehicle or the owner of the land on which the vehicle is located, a public hearing shall be held on the question of the abatement and removal of the vehicle, or parts thereof, as an abandoned, wrecked, dismantled, or inoperative vehicle and the assessment of the administrative costs and the costs of removal of the vehicle, or parts thereof, against the property on which it is located.

(c) The request for such public hearing shall be made in writing to the City Clerk's office within ten (10) working days after the mailing of notice of intention to abate and remove the vehicle or at the time of signing a release pursuant to subsection (d) below. If the request for such public hearing is not received within that period, the City Manager's designee shall have the authority to remove the vehicle.

(d) 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 that time period and releasing any interest in the vehicle, this statement shall be construed as a request for hearing that does not require the presence of the owner submitting the request. Unless the registered or legal owner of the vehicle also requests a hearing, the additional notice requirements of subsection (f) of this section shall not apply.

(e) Notice of such hearing, if such hearing is timely requested pursuant to subsection (c) above, shall be mailed at least ten (10) calendar days before the hearing by certified mail, with a five (5) day return requested, to the person requesting the hearing, to the owner of the land as shown on the last equalized City assessment roll, and to the last registered and legal owner of record unless the vehicle is in such condition that identification numbers are not available to determine ownership or if the records of the Department of Motor Vehicles show no registered owner for the vehicle.

(f) Notice of such public hearing shall also be mailed at least five (5) calendar days before such public hearing to all recorded legal owners as shown on the latest adopted assessment roll of the County of all properties at least 150 feet from each boundary of the site where the vehicle is located. Such mailing need not be by registered or certified mail. Failure to send or receive such notice shall not provide the basis for any appeal and shall not invalidate any decision of the official designated to conduct the hearing pursuant to Section 4.12.650 of this Code.

(g) The notice of intention, specified in subsection (a) above, is not required for removal of a vehicle or part thereof that is inoperable due to the absence of a motor, transmission, or wheels and incapable of being towed, is valued at less than Two Hundred and no/100ths ($200.00) Dollars by a person specified in California Vehicle Code Section 22855, and is determined by the City Manager's designee 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. Prior to final disposition under Section 22662 of such a low-valued vehicle or part for which evidence of registration was recovered pursuant to subsection (e) above, the City Manager's designee shall provide notice to the registered and legal owners of intent to dispose of the vehicle or part, and if the vehicle or part is not claimed and removed within twelve (12) calendar days after the notice is mailed, from a location specified in California Vehicle Code Section 22662, final disposition may proceed.

(Ord. 1111 § 4 Exh. A (part), 2007: prior code § 4-3.908)

All hearings held pursuant to the provisions of this Article shall be held before the official designated by the City Manager who shall hear all facts and testimony he deems pertinent. Such facts and testimony may include testimony on the condition of the vehicle, or part thereof, and the circumstances concerning its location on private or public property. The official shall not be limited by the technical rules of evidence. The owner of the land on which the vehicle is 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 reasons for such denial.

The official may impose such conditions and take such other action as he deems appropriate under the circumstances to carry out the purposes of this Article. The official may delay the time for the removal of the vehicle, or part thereof, if, in his opinion, the circumstances so justify. At the conclusion of the public hearing, the official may find that a vehicle, or part thereof, has been abandoned, wrecked, dismantled, or is inoperative on private or public property, order the same removed from the property as a public nuisance and disposed of as provided in this Article, and determine the administrative costs and the costs 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.

If it is determined at the hearing that the vehicle was placed on the land without the consent of the landowner and that he has not subsequently acquiesced in its presence, the official shall not assess the 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 such landowner.

(Prior code § 4-3.909)

Either the owner of the land as shown on the last equalized City assessment roll or the last registered and legal owner of record for the vehicle may appeal to the City Manager the determination or decision made at the requested public hearing on the abatement and removal of a vehicle, or part thereof, as an abandoned, wrecked, dismantled, or inoperative vehicle under Section 1.12.010.

(Ord. 1111 § 4 Exh. A (part), 2007: prior code § 4-3.910)

After following the procedures set forth in Section 4.12.640 of this Code if no hearing is timely requested, or at such time as is set for abatement by the official designated by the City Manager pursuant to Section 4.12.650 of this Code, or if applicable upon the conclusion of the appeal period of a determination by the official designated by the City Manager to abate the vehicle, whichever occurs later, the vehicle, or part thereof, may be disposed of by removal to a scrapyard or automobile dismantler's yard. After a vehicle has been removed, it shall not thereafter be reconstructed or be made operable.

(Ord. 1111 § 4 Exh. A (part), 2007: prior code § 4-3.911)

Within five (5) days after the date of the removal of the vehicle, or part thereof, notice shall be given to the Department of Motor Vehicles of the State identifying the vehicle, or part thereof, removed. At the same time there shall be transmitted to said Department of Motor Vehicles any evidence of registration available, including registration certificates, certificates of title, and license plates.

(Prior code § 4-3.912)

If the administrative costs and the costs of removal which are charged against the owner of a parcel of land pursuant to the provisions of Section 4.12.650 of this article are not paid within thirty (30) days from the date of the order, or the final disposition of an appeal therefrom, such costs shall be assessed against the parcel of land pursuant to the provisions of Section 38773.5 of the Government Code of the State and shall be transmitted to the Tax Collector for collection. Such assessment shall have the same priority as other City taxes.

(Prior code § 4-3.913)

It shall be unlawful and a misdemeanor for any person to fail or refuse to remove an abandoned, wrecked, dismantled, or inoperative vehicle, or part thereof, or to refuse to abate such nuisance when ordered to do so in accordance with the abatement provisions of this article or State law where such State law is applicable.

(Prior code § 4-3.914)