The storage of junked motor vehicles and the abandonment of
motor vehicles on privately owned property within the Village of Spencerport
is a threat to the health, safety and general welfare of the community.
Junked and abandoned vehicles are a safety hazard to members of the
community and especially younger children. These vehicles oftentimes
are replete with broken glass, gasoline fumes and gasoline still existing
in tanks and harmful acids which can cause injury. Such vehicles are
unsightly and depreciate the property on which they are located as
well as the property in the community in general. They destroy the
aesthetic quality of the Village as a whole and constitute the Village
a less safe and pleasant place in which to live and do business. The
control of the storage of junked motor vehicles outdoors on privately
owned property as well as abandoned vehicles on privately owned property
is, therefore, a necessity for the preservation of the health, safety
and welfare of the community. The intent of this chapter is to establish
procedures for the control and the removal of junked and abandoned
motor vehicles found in the Village in violation of this chapter.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
ENFORCEMENT OFFICER
The Building Inspector of the Village, unless the Board of
Trustees, by resolution, designates some other officer.
JUNKED MOTOR VEHICLE
A.
Any motor vehicle that:
(1)
Is unlicensed, old, wrecked, stored, discarded, abandoned or
dismantled or partly dismantled, which is not intended or in any condition
for legal use upon the public highway.
(2)
Is being held or used for the purpose of resale of used parts
therefrom or for purposes of reclaiming for use some or all of the
materials therein for the purpose of disposing of the same.
(3)
Is in such condition as to cost more to repair and place in
operating condition than its reasonable market value at that time,
before such repair.
B.
With respect to any motor vehicle not required to be licensed
or motor vehicle not usually used on public highways, the fact that
such motor vehicle has remained unused for more than six months and
is not in condition to be removed under its own power shall be presumptive
evidence that such motor vehicle is a "junked motor vehicle."
C.
The fact that a motor vehicle may be licensed or registered
with the State of New York but does not display a current license
plate shall be presumptive evidence that such motor vehicle is unlicensed.
D.
The use of the term in the singular herein is intended, where
applicable, to include the plural.
MOTOR VEHICLE
Any vehicle originally designed and intended to be operated,
drawn or driven or capable of being operated, drawn or driven on a
public highway by any power other than muscular power.
OWNER OF MOTOR VEHICLE
A person, firm or corporation having the property in or title
to a motor vehicle, including a person entitled to the use and possession
of a vehicle subject to a security interest in another person and
also including any lessee or bailee of a motor vehicle having the
use thereof under lease or otherwise.
OWNER OF PRIVATE PROPERTY
Any person, firm, partnership or corporation, whether business
or membership or religious, charitable or otherwise, any purchaser,
tenant, lessee, occupant, undertenant, receiver or assignee of private
premises or private property or any other unit or entity owning real
property in the Village of Spencerport.
PREMISES OR PROPERTY
Includes all parcels of privately owned real property located
within the boundaries of the Village of Spencerport, whether occupied
or vacant, irrespective of size or topography.
It shall be unlawful for any person within the Village of Spencerport
to store or deposit, or cause, suffer or permit to be stored or deposited,
a junked vehicle or part or piece thereof on any private property
within the Village of Spencerport unless:
A. Such motor vehicle is stored or deposited in a completely enclosed
building.
B. Such motor vehicle is under repair, reconstruction or refurbishing
by the owners thereof, who must actually be residing on the premises.
Not more then one such motor vehicle shall be permitted at any one
time on any premises. Such motor vehicle must be so maintained and
protected as to not create any safety hazard or nuisance to surrounding
property owners and shall not remain on the premises more than 90
days.
C. Such motor vehicle is stored for a period in no event to exceed 30
days, on the premises of a duly authorized motor vehicle service station
or a body repair shop within the Village or is the inventory or part
of the inventory of a new or used motor vehicle dealer or a duly licensed
junk dealer located in compliance with the laws and ordinances of
the Village of Spencerport.
[Amended 5-21-1985 by L.L. No. 3-1985]
Any junked motor vehicle, as defined herein, may be removed
from the premises on which it is located by the Village of Spencerport
in the manner hereinafter provided:
A. The enforcement officer, upon detecting a junked car, shall serve
written notice on the person owning the premises on which the same
is located, ordering such person to remove the same or cause the same
to be removed therefrom within 10 days of the date of said service.
The enforcement officer may determine ownership of any parcel of land
in the Village of Spencerport from the current assessment roll.
B. In the event that said junked motor vehicle or vehicles are not removed
from the premises within the time required in the notice, the Village
of Spencerport shall have the right to enter upon the premises and
to remove and dispose of the junked motor vehicle or vehicles. The
expense of such removal and disposal shall be a lawful charge against
the owner and occupant of the premises and may be collected, if necessary,
in a civil action instituted in the name of the Village or in accordance
with the provisions of this chapter.
[Amended 2-2-1988 by L.L. No. 1-1988]
A violation of this chapter or any provision or part thereof
by any person, firm or corporation is hereby declared to be an offense,
punishable by a fine not to exceed $250 or by imprisonment not to
exceed 15 days, or both. A violation of this chapter shall also subject
the violator to a civil penalty of the greater of $50 per separate
violation or the Village's costs of inspection, service of notice,
removal, towing and permanently disposing of such vehicle, less any
penal monetary fine which may have been imposed. Any person who shall
resist or obstruct the duly authorized agents, servants, officers
and employees of the Village of Spencerport or other duly authorized
law enforcement officers in removal and disposal of motor vehicles,
as provided in this chapter, shall be in violation of this chapter
and subject to the fines and penalties provided herein. Each day's
continued violation shall constitute a separate and additional offense.
Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, the Village of Spencerport may serve such notices and do such other and further things as set forth in §
315-4 and may at the same time or at any other time, without prior notice, proceed under §
315-5 concerning the imposition of penalties.
The provisions of § 1224 of the Vehicle and Traffic
Law of the State of New York shall govern removal and disposition
of abandoned motor vehicles as therein defined.