[CC 1971 §§14-1 — 14-2; Ord. No. 454 §§2-3, 3-3-1954]
A. 
Maintenance Generally. Every junkyard within the City shall at all times be maintained in a neat and orderly fashion so that the same shall not become unsightly and a public nuisance.
B. 
Fire Hazards. Junkyards within the City shall at all times be kept so as not to create a fire hazard. The Chief of the Fire Department is hereby authorized to inspect such yards to determine whether they contain fire hazards and to order such changes which may be necessary to eliminate fire hazards as he may, in his discretion, deem necessary.
[Ord. No. 816 §235.190, 8-16-1994]
Sections 235.190 through 235.360 shall be known and may be cited as the "Abandoned, Wrecked, Dismantled or Inoperative Motor Vehicle Ordinance."
[1]
Editor's note — Ord. No. 816 enacted August 16, 1994 repealed Sections 235.190 — 235.270 and enacted Sections 235.190 — 235.350. The previous sections were derived from ord. no. 753 §24.115, 10-6-1987 and 1971 Code Sections 14-13, 14-14, 14-16 — 14-17 and 14-20 — 14-24.
[Ord. No. 816 §235.200, 8-16-1994]
For the purposes of Section 235.190 through 235.350 the following terms, phrases, words and their derivations shall have the meaning given herein. When not inconsistent with the context, words used in the present tense include the future, words in the plural number include the singular number, and words in the singular number include the plural number. The word "shall" is always mandatory and not merely directory.
CITY
The City of Rock Port, Missouri.
CHIEF OF POLICE
The Chief of Police of the City of Rock Port, Missouri.
MOTOR VEHICLE
Any vehicle which is self-propelled and designed to travel along the ground and shall include, but not be limited to automobiles, buses, motor-bikes, motorcycles, motorscooters, trucks, tractors, go-carts, golf carts, campers and trailers.
JUNKED MOTOR VEHICLE
Any motor vehicle, as defined in this Section which does not have lawfully affixed thereto both an unexpired license plate or plates and a current motor vehicle safety inspection certificate, and the condition of which is wrecked, dismantled, partially dismantled, inoperative, abandoned or discarded.
PERSON
Any person, firm, partnership, association, corporation, company, or organization of any kind.
PRIVATE PROPERTY
Any real property within the City which is privately owned and which is not public property as defined in this Section.
PUBLIC PROPERTY
Any street or highway which shall include the entire width between the boundary lines of every way publicly maintained for the purposes of vehicular travel, and shall also mean any other publicly owned property or facility.
[Ord. No. 816 §235.210, 8-16-1994; Ord. No. 844 §235.210, 12-5-1995; Ord. No. 852 §235.210, 6-25-1996]
A. 
No person shall park, store, leave, or permit the parking, storing, or leaving of any motor vehicle of any kind which is in an abandoned, wrecked, dismantled, inoperative, rusted, junked, or partially dismantled condition whether attended or not, upon any public or private property within the City for a period of time in excess of seventy-two (72) hours. The presence of an abandoned, wrecked, dismantled, inoperative, rusted, junked or partially dismantled vehicle or parts thereof, on private or public property is hereby a public nuisance which may be abated and punished as such in accordance with the provisions of this Article. This Section shall not apply to any vehicle enclosed within a building on private property or to any vehicle held in connection with the business enterprise, lawfully licensed by the City and properly operated in the appropriate business zone, pursuant to the laws of the City, provided said vehicle or parts thereof are screened from public view by a fence, hedge, wall or other device of sufficient height to make it impossible to see said vehicles or parts thereof from any public way.
B. 
Should the owner of a vehicle desire to repair or rehabilitate the vehicle as described in Subsection (A) above, he/she may do so without having said vehicle declared to be a nuisance by obtaining a rehabilitation permit pursuant to the following provisions:
1. 
A repair and rehabilitation permit must be obtained from the Rock Port City Clerk for a fee of twenty dollars ($20.00).
2. 
The application for this permit must describe the vehicle to be repaired or rehabilitated, the location of such vehicle, and set forth a plan of repair and rehabilitation indicating the work to be accomplished and expected date of completion, which date shall be not more than sixty (60) days after the date on which the permit is granted.
3. 
This permit shall be granted to all who comply with the application procedures set forth above and be granted for a period of sixty (60) days from the date of issuance.
4. 
Any extensions to this permit may be granted only by the majority vote of the Board of Aldermen of the City of Rock Port prior to the expiration of the sixty (60) day permit. The fee for any extension of the above-designated permit shall be the sum of one hundred dollars ($100.00).
5. 
The failure to timely apply for this permit or to complete the repair or rehabilitation so as to cause the vehicle to not violate Subsection (A) above, shall make the person parking, storing, leaving or permitting the parking, storing or leaving of the motor vehicle subject to all penalties provided under this Chapter.
[Ord. No. 816 §235.220, 8-16-1994]
Whenever it comes to the attention of the Chief of Police that any nuisance as defined in Section 235.210 of this Article exists in the City, a notice in writing shall be served upon the occupant of the land where the nuisance exists, or in case there is no such occupant, then upon the owner of the property or his agent, notifying them of the existence of the nuisance and requesting its removal in the time specified in this Article.
[Ord. No. 816 §235.230, 8-16-1994]
Upon proper notice and opportunity to be heard, the owner of the abandoned, wrecked, dismantled, or inoperative vehicle and the owner or occupant of the private property on which the same is located, either or all of them, shall be responsible for its removal. In the event of removal and disposition by the City, the owner, or occupant of the private property where same is located, shall be liable for the expenses incurred.
[Ord. No. 816 §235.240, 8-16-1994]
The Chief of Police of the City shall give notice of removal to the owner or occupant of the private property where it is located, at least seven (7) days before the time of compliance. It shall constitute sufficient notice, when a copy of same is posted in a conspicuous place upon the private property on which the vehicle is located and duplicate copies are sent by registered mail to the owner or occupant of the private property at his last known address.
[Ord. No. 816 §235.250, 8-16-1994]
The notice shall contain the request for removal within the time specified in this Article, and the notice shall advise that upon failure to comply with the notice to remove, the City or its designee shall undertake such removal with the cost of removal to be levied against the owner or occupant of the property.
[Ord. No. 816 §235.260, 8-16-1994]
The persons to whom the notices are directed, or their duly authorized agents may file a written request for hearing before the Board of Aldermen of the City or its designee within the seven (7) day period of compliance prescribed in Section 235.240.
[Ord. No. 816 §235.270, 8-16-1994]
The hearing shall be held as soon as practicable after the filing of the request and the persons to whom the notices are directed shall be advised of the time and place of said hearing at least three (3) days in advance thereof. At any such hearing the City and the persons to whom the notices have been directed may introduce such witnesses and evidence as either party deems necessary.
[Ord. No. 816 §235.280, 8-16-1994]
If the violation described in the notice has not been remedied within the seven (7) day period of compliance, or in the event that a notice requesting a hearing is timely filed, a hearing is had, and the existence of the violation is affirmed by the Board of Aldermen of the City or its designee, the Chief of Police or his designee shall have the right to take possession of the junked motor vehicle and remove it from the premises. It shall be unlawful for any person to interfere with, hinder, or refuse to allow such person or persons to enter upon private property for the purpose of removing a vehicle under the provisions of this Article.
[Ord. No. 816 §235.290, 8-16-1994]
Within forty-eight (48) hours of the removal of such vehicle, the Chief of Police shall give notice to the registered owner of the vehicle, if known, and also to the owner or occupant of the private property from which the vehicle was removed, that said vehicle, or vehicles, has been impounded and stored for violation of this Article. The notice shall give the location of where the vehicle or vehicles, is stored, and the costs incurred by the City for removal.
[Ord. No. 816 §235.300, 8-16-1994]
Upon removing a vehicle under the provisions of 235.280, the City shall after ten (10) days cause it to be appraised. If the vehicle is appraised at seventy-five dollars ($75.00) or less, the Chief of Police shall execute an affidavit so attesting and describing the vehicle, including the license plates, if any and stating the location and appraised value of the vehicle. The Chief of Police, after complying with the above, may summarily dispose of the vehicle and execute a certificate of sale. If the vehicle is appraised for more than seventy-five dollars ($75.00), the Chief of Police shall give notice of public sale not less than ten (10) days before the date of the proposed sale.
[Ord. No. 816 §235.310, 8-16-1994]
A. 
The notice of sale shall state:
1. 
The sale is of abandoned property in the possession of the City.
2. 
A description of the vehicle, including make, model, license number and any other information which will accurately identify the vehicle.
3. 
The terms of the sale.
4. 
The date, time and place of the sale.
[Ord. No. 816 §235.320, 8-16-1994]
The vehicle shall be sold to the highest and best bidder. At the time of payment of the purchase price, the Chief of Police shall execute a certificate of sale in duplicate, the original of which to be given to the purchaser, and the copy thereof to be filed with the City Clerk of the City. Should the sale for any reason be invalid, the City's liability shall be limited to the return of the purchase price.
[Ord. No. 816 §235.330, 8-16-1994]
The owner of any vehicle seized under the provisions of this Article may redeem such vehicle at any time after its removal but prior to the sale or destruction thereof upon proof of ownership and payment to the City Clerk of said sum as he may determine and fix for the actual and reasonable expenses of removal, and any preliminary sale advertising expenses plus ten dollars ($10.00) per day for storage for each vehicle redeemed.
[Ord. No. 816 §235.340, 8-16-1994]
Upon the failure of the owner or occupant of property on which abandoned vehicles have been removed by the City to pay the unrecovered expenses incurred by the City in such removal, a lien shall be placed upon the property for the amount of such expenses.
[Ord. No. 816 §235.350, 8-16-1994]
Any person violating any of the provisions of this Article shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction shall be subject to a fine of not more than two hundred dollars ($200.00). Each act in violation of any of the provisions hereof shall be deemed a separate offense.