[Ord. No. 10492,6-7-2018; Ord. No. 10588, 5-2-2019]
No person shall abandon any motor vehicle or trailer on the right-of-way of any public road or State highway as set out in §
16-8 of the City of Kirkwood Code of Ordinances. And no person shall leave any vehicle at any place within the City for such time and under such circumstances as to cause such vehicle reasonably to appear to have been abandoned. For purposes of this Section, the following matters shall be considered material to the determination of whether a vehicle has been abandoned:
(a) The
vehicle has not been moved for a period of ninety-six (96) hours.
(b) The
vehicle contains no engine.
(c) The
vehicle is missing one (1) or more wheels or tires.
(d) The
vehicle is missing body parts such as hood, fender, door or trunk
lid.
(e) The
vehicle is incapable of being operated.
[Ord. No. 10492,6-7-2018]
Except in the case of an accident resulting in the injury or
death of any person, the driver of a vehicle which for any reason
obstructs the regular flow of traffic on the roadway of any public
road or state highway shall make every reasonable effort to move the
vehicle or have it moved so as not to block the regular flow of traffic.
Any person who fails to comply with the requirements of this section
is guilty of an ordinance violation and, upon conviction thereof,
shall be punished by a fine of not less than $10 nor more than $50.
[Ord. No. 10492,6-7-2018]
(a) Any
law enforcement officer or an official of the City, within the officer's
or official's jurisdiction, may authorize a towing company to remove
to a place of safety:
(1) Any abandoned property on the right-of-way of:
a. Any interstate highway or freeway in an urbanized area of the City
left unattended for 10 hours, or immediately if a law enforcement
officer determines that the abandoned property is a serious hazard
to other motorists;
b. Any interstate highway or freeway outside of an urbanized area of
the City left unattended for 24 hours, or after four hours if a law
enforcement officer determines that the abandoned property is a serious
hazard to other motorists;
c. Any state highway, other than an interstate highway or freeway outside
of an urbanized area, left unattended for more than 24 hours;
provided that commercial motor vehicles referred to in Subsection
(a)(1)a. through c. not hauling waste designated as hazardous under
49 U.S.C. § 5103(a) may only be removed under this section
to a place of safety until the owner or owner's representative has
had a reasonable opportunity to contact a towing company of choice;
or
d. Any state highway, other than an interstate highway or freeway in
an urbanized area, left unattended for more than 10 hours.
(2) Any unattended abandoned property illegally left standing upon any
highway or bridge if the abandoned property is left in a position
or under such circumstances as to obstruct the normal movement of
traffic where there is no reasonable indication that the person in
control of the property is arranging for its immediate control or
removal.
(3) Any abandoned property which has been abandoned under §
14-117 herein or Section 577.080, RSMo.
(4) Any abandoned property which has been reported as stolen or taken
without consent of the owner.
(5) Any abandoned property for which the person operating such property
is arrested for an alleged offense for which the officer takes the
person into custody and where such person is unable to arrange for
the property's timely removal.
(6) Any abandoned property which due to any other state law or City ordinance
is subject to towing because of the owner's outstanding traffic or
parking violations.
(7) Any abandoned property left unattended in violation of a state law
or City ordinance where signs have been posted giving notice of the
law or where the violation causes a safety hazard.
(8) Any abandoned property illegally left standing on the waters of this
State as defined in Section 306.010, RSMo., where the abandoned property
is obstructing the normal movement of traffic, or where the abandoned
property has been unattended for more than 10 hours or is floating
loose on the water.
(9) Any abandoned property for which the person operating such property
or vehicle eludes arrest for an alleged offense for which the officer
would have taken the offender into custody.
(b) When
the City Police Department authorizes a tow pursuant to this section
in which the abandoned property is moved from the immediate vicinity,
it shall complete a crime inquiry and inspection report.
(c) Any
City agency other than the City Police Department authorizing a tow
under this section where property is towed away from the immediate
vicinity shall report the tow to the City Police Department within
two hours of the tow, along with a crime inquiry and inspection report.
[Ord. No. 10492,6-7-2018]
(a) Payment of charges. The owner of abandoned property removed as provided in this division shall be responsible for payment of all reasonable charges for towing and storage of such abandoned property as provided in §
14-121.
(b) Crime inquiry and inspection report. Upon the towing of any abandoned property pursuant to §
14-119 or under authority of a law enforcement officer or local governmental agency pursuant to Chapter
16, Article
II, §
16-10, of the City of Kirkwood Code of Ordinances, the City Police Department, where it authorized such towing or was properly notified by another governmental agency of such towing, shall promptly make an inquiry with the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) and any statewide Missouri law enforcement computer system to determine if the abandoned property has been reported as stolen and shall enter the information pertaining to the towed property into the statewide law enforcement computer system. If the abandoned property is not claimed within 10 working days of the towing, the tower who has online access to the Department of Revenue's records shall make an inquiry to determine the abandoned property owner and lienholder, if any, of record. In the event that the records of the Department of Revenue fail to disclose the name of the owner or any lienholder of record, the tower shall comply with the requirements of Subsection (3) of Section 304.156, RSMo. If the tower does not have online access, the City Police Department shall submit a crime inquiry and inspection report to the Missouri Director of Revenue. The City Police Department shall also provide one copy of the report to the storage facility and one copy to the towing company. A towing company that does not have online access to the Department's records and that is in possession of abandoned property after 10 working days shall report such fact to the City Police Department. The crime inquiry and inspection report shall be designed by the Director of Revenue and shall include the following:
(1) The year, model, make and property identification number of the property
and the owner and any lienholders, if known;
(2) A description of any damage to the property noted by the law enforcement
officer authorizing the tow;
(3) The license plate or registration number and the state of issuance,
if available;
(4) The storage location of the towed property;
(5) The name, telephone number and address of the towing company;
(6) The date, place and reason for the towing of the abandoned property;
(7) The date of the inquiry of the National Crime Information Center,
any statewide Missouri law enforcement computer system, and any other
similar system which has titling and registration information to determine
if the abandoned property had been stolen. This information shall
be entered only by the City Police Department;
(8) The signature and printed name of the law enforcement officer authorizing
the tow;
(9) The name of the towing company, the signature and printed name of
the towing operator, and an indicator disclosing whether the tower
has online access to the Department's records; and
(10) Any additional information the Missouri Director of Revenue deems
appropriate.
(c) Reclaiming
property. The owner of such abandoned property, or the holder of a
valid security interest of record, may reclaim it from the towing
company upon proof of ownership or valid security interest of record
and payment of all reasonable charges for the towing and storage of
the abandoned property.
(d) Lienholder
repossession. If a lienholder repossesses any motor vehicle, trailer,
all-terrain vehicle, outboard motor or vessel without the knowledge
or cooperation of the owner, then the repossessor shall notify the
City Police Department within two hours of the repossession and shall
further provide the Police Department with any additional information
the Police Department deems appropriate. The City Police Department
shall make an inquiry with the National Crime Information Center and
the Missouri statewide law enforcement computer system and shall enter
the repossessed vehicle into the statewide law enforcement computer
system.
(e) Notice
to owner/tow lien claim. Any towing company which comes into possession
of abandoned property pursuant to this division and who claims a lien
for recovering, towing or storing abandoned property shall give notice
to the title owner and to all persons claiming a lien thereon, as
disclosed by the records of the Missouri Department of Revenue or
of a corresponding agency in any other state. The towing company shall
notify the owner and any lienholder within 10 business days of the
date of mailing indicated on the notice sent by the Missouri Department
of Revenue pursuant to Section 304.156, RSMo., by certified mail,
return receipt requested. The notice shall contain the following:
(1) The name, address and telephone number of the storage facility;
(2) The date, reason and place from which the abandoned property was
removed;
(3) A statement that the amount of the accrued towing, storage and administrative
costs are the responsibility of the owner, and that storage and/or
administrative costs will continue to accrue as a legal liability
of the owner until the abandoned property is redeemed;
(4) A statement that the storage firm claims a possessory lien for all
such charges;
(5) A statement that the owner or holder of a valid security interest
of record may retake possession of the abandoned property at any time
during business hours by proving ownership or rights to a secured
interest and paying all towing and storage charges;
(6) A statement that, should the owner consider that the towing or removal
was improper or not legally justified, the owner has a right to request
a hearing as provided in this section to contest the propriety of
such towing or removal;
(7) A statement that if the abandoned property remains unclaimed for
30 days from the date of mailing the notice, title to the abandoned
property will be transferred to the person or firm in possession of
the abandoned property, free of all prior liens; and
(8) A statement that any charges in excess of the value of the abandoned
property at the time of such transfer shall remain a liability of
the owner.
(f) Physical
search of property. In the event that the Missouri Department of Revenue
notifies the towing company that the records of the Department of
Revenue fail to disclose the name of the owner or any lienholder of
record, the towing company shall attempt to locate documents or other
evidence of ownership on or within the abandoned property itself.
The towing company must certify that a physical search of the abandoned
property disclosed no ownership documents were found and a good faith
effort has been made. For purposes of this section, "good faith effort"
means that the following checks have been performed by the company
to establish the prior state of registration and title:
(1) Check of the abandoned property for any type of license plates, license
plate record, temporary permit, inspection sticker, decal or other
evidence which may indicate a state of possible registration and title;
(2) Check the law enforcement report for a license plate number or registration
number if the abandoned property was towed at the request of a law
enforcement agency;
(3) Check the tow ticket/report of the tow truck operator to see if a
license plate was on the abandoned property at the beginning of the
tow, if a private tow; and
(4) If there is no address of the owner on the impound report, check
the law enforcement report to see if an out-of-state address is indicated
on the driver's license information.
(g) Petition in Circuit Court. The owner of the abandoned property removed pursuant to this division or any person claiming a lien, other than the towing company, within 10 days after the receipt of notification from the towing company pursuant to Subsection
(e) of this section, may file a petition in the Associate Circuit Court in the county where the abandoned property is stored to determine if the abandoned property was wrongfully taken or withheld from the owner. The petition shall name the towing company among the defendants. The petition may also name the agency ordering the tow or the owner, lessee or agent of the real property from which the abandoned property was removed. The Missouri Director of Revenue shall not be a party to such petition but a copy of the petition shall be served on the Director of Revenue, who shall not issue title to such abandoned property pursuant to this section until the petition is finally decided.
(h) Notice
to owner.
(1) Notice as to the removal of any abandoned property pursuant to this
division shall be made in writing within five working days to the
registered owner and any lienholder of the fact of the removal, the
grounds for the removal, and the place to which the property has been
removed by either:
a. The public agency authorizing the removal; or
b. The towing company, where authorization was made by an owner or lessee
of real property.
(2) If the abandoned property is stored in any storage facility, a copy
of the notice shall be given to the operator of the facility. The
notice provided for in this section shall include the amount of mileage
if available shown on the abandoned property at the time of removal.
(i) Tow
truck requirements. Any towing company which tows abandoned property
for hire shall have the towing company's name, city and state clearly
printed in letters at least three inches in height on the sides of
the truck, wrecker or other vehicle used in the towing.
(j) Storage
facilities. Persons operating or in charge of any storage facility
where the abandoned property is stored pursuant to this division shall
accept cash for payment of towing and storage by a registered owner
or the owner's agent claiming the abandoned property.
(k) Disposition
of towed property. Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 301.227,
RSMo., any towing company which has complied with the notification
provisions in Section 304.156, RSMo., including notice that any property
remaining unredeemed after 30 days may be sold as scrap property,
may then dispose of such property as provided in this subsection.
Such sale shall only occur if at least 30 days have passed since the
date of such notification, the abandoned property remains unredeemed
with no satisfactory arrangements made with the towing company for
continued storage, and the owner or holder of a security agreement
has not requested a hearing as provided in Section 304.156, RSMo.
The towing company may dispose of such abandoned property by selling
the property on a bill of sale as prescribed by the Director of Revenue
to a scrap metal operator or licensed salvage dealer for destruction
purposes only. The towing company shall forward a copy of the bill
of sale provided by the scrap metal operator or licensed salvage dealer
to the Director of Revenue within two weeks of the date of such sale.
The towing company shall keep a record of each such vehicle sold for
destruction for three years, which shall be available for inspection
by law enforcement and authorized Department of Revenue officials.
The record shall contain the year, make, identification number of
the property, date of sale, and name of the purchasing scrap metal
operator or licensed salvage dealer and copies of all notifications
issued by the towing company as required in this division. Scrap metal
operators or licensed salvage dealers shall keep a record of the purchase
of such property as provided in Section 301.227, RSMo. Scrap metal
operators and licensed salvage dealers may obtain a junk certificate
as provided in Section 301.227, RSMo., on vehicles purchased on a
bill of sale pursuant to the section.
When the City has physical possession of the abandoned property,
it may sell the abandoned property in accordance with its established
provisions and regulations and may transfer ownership by means of
a bill of sale signed by the City Clerk and sealed with the official
City Seal. Such bill of sale shall contain the make and model of the
abandoned property, the complete abandoned property identification
number, and the odometer reading of the abandoned property, if available,
and shall be lawful proof of ownership for any dealer registered under
the provisions of Section 301.218, RSMo., or Section 301.560, RSMo.,
or for any other person.