[Adopted 8-1-1955 as Ord. No. 594]
By virtue of the authority vested in it by N.J.R.S.
26:3-45 and 40:48-2.13 and 2.14, the City Council of the City of Hackensack
hereby declares that the abandoning of any vehicle or chattel upon
private or public property in the City of Hackensack is a nuisance
and iminical to the public health, safety and general welfare in that
children or other persons in the vicinity of said abandoned chattel
may meet with serious injury therefrom.
As used in this Article, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
ABANDONED
The remaining of a vehicle or chattel continuously upon unoccupied
property for a period exceeding 24 hours, unless it is upon such property
in connection with a business operation currently being conducted
thereon and the vehicle or chattel is under reasonable periodic supervision
in connection with said business operation.
CHATTEL
Vehicles, iceboxes, refrigerators, sinks, stoves, tanks,
plumbing fixtures, machinery, appliances and articles or objects of
a similar nature.
VEHICLE
Every device in, upon or by which a person or property is
or may be transported upon a highway, excepting a device used exclusively
upon stationary rails or tracks.
The City Council of the City of Hackensack may
recover, by action at law, the expenses incurred in such removal and
abatement, less any amounts realized from a sale at auction as aforesaid,
from any person who shall have caused or allowed such chattel or vehicle
to remain upon the property, or from any owner, tenant or occupant
of premises upon which said chattel shall have been abandoned, who,
after notice as herein provided, shall fail to remove and abate the
same within the time specified in the notice. If the Council fails
to recover an amount sufficient to defray such expenses or shall deem
it inexpedient to bring such action, such expenses, or such part thereof
as may not have been recovered, shall be paid by the city as an ordinary
current expense.
The City Council, instead of proceeding in accordance with §§
168-3 and
168-4 of this Article to abate the nuisance, may institute an action in the Superior Court, in the name of the state, for injunctive relief in accordance with N.J.R.S. 26:3-56.
[Adopted 3-6-1967 as Ord. No. 901]
[Amended 3-28-2023 by Ord. No. 14-2023]
A. Continuous parking of a vehicle on a public street or highway for
a period of 72 hours shall be prima facie sufficient evidence of abandonment
by the owner thereof and reasonable grounds for a member of the Police
Department to believe that such vehicle has been abandoned. The City
Manager or designee is authorized to relax this requirement in some
or all of the City in the event of emergent circumstances such as
severe weather until such time as he or she determines the emergent
circumstances are no longer present, and shall further have the discretion,
for good cause, to authorize individual vehicles to park on a public
street or highway for a continuous period beyond 72 hours under policies
and procedures to be developed by his or her office.
B. Any inoperable vehicle that is continuously parked on a public street
or highway for a period of 48 hours shall be presumed to be abandoned
and may be removed by the City utilizing the procedures set forth
in this article, as well as subject to the penalties set forth in
this article. For purposes of this section, a vehicle shall be deemed
"inoperable" if the engine, wheels or other parts have been removed,
or the engine, wheels or other parts have been altered, damaged or
otherwise impaired so that the vehicle is incapable of being driven
under its own motor power, or, if not equipped with an engine when
manufactured, is incapable of being moved without outside assistance.
C. Any vehicle parked on a public street or highway for any period without
current, valid license plates shall be presumed to be abandoned and
may be removed immediately by the City utilizing the procedures set
forth in this article, as well as subject to the penalties set forth
in this article.
[Amended 11-18-1991 by Ord. No. 24-91]
Any person convicted of a violation of any provision of this Article shall be subject to the imposition of the sanctions set forth in Chapter
1, General Provisions, Article
I, §
1-15, of the Code of the City of Hackensack, New Jersey.
This act is intended to provide an additional
remedy and shall not be construed to supersede procedures provided
under any other act.