[Adopted 7-10-1978]
A.Â
Determination of abandonment. No person shall leave unattended any
motor vehicle, trailer, semitrailer or mobile home on any public highway
or private or public property, for such time and under such circumstances
as to cause the vehicle to reasonably appear to have been abandoned.
Except as otherwise provided in this section, whenever any vehicle
has been left unattended without the permission of the property owner
for more than 48 hours, the vehicle is deemed abandoned and constitutes
a public nuisance. A motor vehicle shall not be considered an abandoned
vehicle when it is out of ordinary public view, or when it is currently
registered or designated as not abandoned by a duly authorized Town
official.
Any vehicle in violation of § 535-1 herein shall be impounded until lawfully claimed or disposed of under § 535-3, except that if it is deemed by the Town Board that the cost of towing and storage would exceed the value of the vehicle, then that motor vehicle may be junked or sold by the Town of Genesee prior to the expiration of the storage period upon determination by the Town Board that the vehicle is not stolen or otherwise wanted for evidence or other reason. All substantially complete vehicles that exceed 19 model years in age shall be disposed of in accordance with § 535-3A below.
A.Â
Notice to owner. Any vehicle which is deemed abandoned by the Town Board of the Town of Genesee and not disposed of immediately under § 535-2 above shall be retained in a convenient place of storage for a minimum of 10 days after certified mail notice has been sent to the owner and to lienholders of record to permit reclamation of the vehicle upon payment of accrued charges. Such notice shall set forth the year, make, model and serial number of the abandoned motor vehicle and the place where the vehicle is being held and shall inform the owner and any lienholders of their right to reclaim the vehicle. The notice shall state that the failure of the owner or lienholders to exercise their rights to reclaim the vehicle under this section shall be deemed a waiver of all right, title and interest in the vehicle and a consent to the sale of the vehicle. Each stored vehicle not reclaimed by its owner within the time listed above may be sold. The Town of Genesee may dispose of the vehicle by sealed bid or auction sale. At such public sale, the highest bid for any such motor vehicle shall be accepted unless the same is deemed inadequate by the Town Board, in which event all bids may be rejected. If all bids are rejected or no bid is received, the Town of Genesee may either readvertise the sale, adjourn the sale to a definite date, sell the motor vehicle at a private sale or junk the vehicle. Any interested person may offer bids on each abandoned vehicle to be sold.
B.Â
Procedure for bidding. Public notice of the sale, whether it be by
auction or sealed bid, shall be posted at the Town Hall and at two
other public locations in the Town. In addition, a copy of the notice
shall be mailed to the last owner of record and lienholder of record.
C.Â
Procedure after sale. Upon the sale of the abandoned vehicle the
Town of Genesee shall supply the purchaser with a completed form which
will enable said purchaser to obtain a registration certificate of
title for the vehicle. The purchaser shall have 10 days to remove
the vehicle from the storage area but shall pay a reasonable storage
fee if established by the Town Board for each day the vehicle remains
in storage after the second business day subsequent to the sale date.
Ten days after the sale, if the vehicle has not as yet been claimed
by the purchaser, the purchaser shall forfeit all interest in the
vehicle and the vehicle shall be deemed to again be abandoned and
may be sold again. Any list of vehicles to be sold by the Town of
Genesee shall be made available to any interested person or organization
who or which makes a written request for such list. The Clerk of the
Town of Genesee may charge a fee for the preparation of said list.[1]
