[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Commissioners (now the Council) of the City of Perth Amboy 10-20-70 as Ord. No. C-876. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Amended 9-10-2003 by Ord. No. 1216-2003]
For the purpose of this chapter, unless a different meaning clearly appears from the context, the terms used herein are defined as follows:
ABANDONED MOTOR VEHICLE
Any motor vehicle, whether a derelict motor vehicle or not, which is parked illegally so as to obstruct the free flow of traffic or is otherwise parked illegally for an unreasonably long period of time or is parked in an otherwise lawful manner but for an unreasonably long period of time. For the purpose of this definition, a vehicle otherwise lawfully parked shall be deemed to be so parked for an unreasonably long period of time when it has remained in the same location on public property for two (2) days or on private property for twenty (20) days, except if stored in a private garage or driveway area.
DERELICT MOTOR VEHICLE
Any motor vehicle which is incapable of being moved under its own power from place to place.
PERSON
Any individual, sole proprietorship, firm, partnership, association, corporation or other organization, and the singular or plural, masculine, feminine or neuter thereof, unless the contrary is clearly expressed.
STORE
The keeping of any motor vehicle upon any premises.
UNCLAIMED MOTOR VEHICLE
Any motor vehicle, whether a derelict motor vehicle or not, which has been towed or moved by the Police Department or its designated agent and stored with a towing or wrecking facility for an unreasonably long period of time after the owner of record has been advised of the towing. For the purpose of this definition, a vehicle shall be deemed to be stored for an unreasonably long period of time when it has been stored with the tower/wrecker for twenty (20) days.
[Amended 9-10-2003 by Ord. No. 1216-2003]
Any motor vehicle found abandoned or unclaimed within the City of Perth Amboy may be taken into possession by any police officer of the City of Perth Amboy and thereafter disposed of in the manner provided by N.J.S.A. 39:10A-1 et seq. If any motor vehicle is disposed of through public auction or through the processing of a junk title certificate, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 39:10A-1 et seq., the city shall be reimbursed for all expenses incurred pursuant to and in connection with the disposition of said vehicle.
A. 
Abandonment of vehicles prohibited. No person shall abandon any vehicle within the city 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 to reasonably appear to have been abandoned.
B. 
Leaving of wrecked, nonoperating vehicles, or repair of vehicles on street prohibited.
(1) 
No person shall leave any partially dismantled, nonoperating wrecked or junked vehicles on any street or highway within the city.
(2) 
No person, firm or corporation shall permit, authorize or allow the repair, service or overhaul of any vehicle of any description upon any of the public highways or streets of the City of Perth Amboy, except such repairs that are necessitated by an immediate emergency, provided said emergency repairs shall be completed in less than sixty (60) minutes, or unless an extension of time has been granted by the Perth Amboy Police Department.
C. 
Disposition of wrecked or discarded vehicles. No person in charge or control of any property within the city whether as owner, tenant, occupant, lessee, or otherwise, shall allow any partially dismantled, nonoperating, wrecked, junked, or discarded vehicles to remain on such property longer than forty-eight (48) hours; and no person shall leave any such vehicle on any property within the city for a longer time than forty-eight (48) hours; except that this subsection shall not apply with regard to a vehicle in an enclosed building, a vehicle on the premises of a business enterprise operated in a lawful place and manner, when necessary to the operation of such business enterprise, or a vehicle in an appropriate storage place or depository maintained in a lawful place and manner by the city.
D. 
Impounding. The Deputy Chief of Police or any member of the Police Department designated by him, and the Director of the Department of Public Works, or any employee of the department designated by the Director, is hereby authorized to remove or have removed any vehicle left at any place within the city which reasonably appears to be in violation of this section, or lost, stolen or unclaimed. Such vehicle shall be impounded until lawfully claimed or disposed of in accordance with applicable statutes. The department which has removed a vehicle and caused it to be impounded shall notify the registered owner in writing by personal service or certified mail, at the last known address of the owner, of the removal of such vehicle, the reason for the same, and the location of the vehicle. In the event of notification by mail, the same shall be deemed complete upon mailing. If the vehicle is claimed by the registered owner before it has been disposed of in accordance with the applicable statutes, the vehicle shall be turned over to the owner only after he shall have paid the cost of removing the vehicle to the place of impoundment and have paid all storage and relevant charges as identified in Section 425-12 and any fine or penalty and court costs assessed against the owner for a violation which gave rise to the seizure or taking of possession. The municipal council may change the amount of removal and storage charges from time to time, by resolution.
This chapter shall not apply to:
A. 
Any motor vehicle which is stored in a garage where it is not exposed to public view.
B. 
Any premises licensed as a junkyard.
[Amended 5-7-1991 by Ord. No. 544-91; 6-5-1991 by Ord. No. 557-91]
Any person violating any of the provisions of this chapter shall, upon conviction, be punished by a fine of not less than one hundred dollars ($100) nor more than one thousand dollars ($1,000) or by imprisonment in the county jail for a period not to exceed ninety (90) days, or by both such fine and imprisonment. In addition, the Court may order payment of restitution to the City of Perth Amboy for costs incurred in remediating any violation. Each violation of any of the provisions of this chapter and each day the same is violated shall be deemed and taken to be a separate and distinct offense.