[Ord. No. 494, § 1.]
For the purposes of this article, the following words and phrases
shall have the meanings respectively ascribed to them by this section:
(a)
HIGHWAY — A way or place of whatever nature, publicly maintained
and open to the use of the public for purposes of vehicular travel.
Highway includes street.
(b)
PUBLIC PROPERTY — Does not include highway.
(c)
VEHICLE — A device by which any person or property may be propelled,
moved or drawn upon a highway, except a device moved by human power
or used exclusively upon stationary rails or tracks.
[Ord. No. 494, § 1.]
The accumulation and storage of abandoned, wrecked, dismantled
or inoperative vehicles or parts thereof on private or public property
not including highways is hereby found to create a condition tending
to reduce the value of private property, to promote blight and deterioration,
to invite plundering, to create fire hazards, to constitute an attractive
nuisance creating a hazard to the health and safety of minors, to
create a harborage for rodents and insects and to be injurious to
the health, safety and general welfare. Therefore, the presence of
an abandoned, wrecked, dismantled or inoperative vehicle or part thereof,
on private or public property not including highways, except as expressly
permitted in this article, is hereby declared to constitute a public
nuisance which may be abated as such in accordance with the provisions
of this chapter.
[Ord. No. 494, §§ 2,
3.]
This article shall not apply to:
(a)
A vehicle or part thereof which is completely enclosed within a building
in a lawful manner where it is not visible from the street or other
public or private property.
(b)
A vehicle or part thereof which is stored or parked in a lawful manner
on private property in connection with the business of a licensed
dismantler, licensed vehicle dealer, a junk dealer or when such storage
or parking is necessary to the operation of a lawfully conducted business
or commercial enterprise.
(c)
A vehicle or part thereof which is located behind a solid fence six
feet in height or which is not plainly visible from a highway.
Nothing in this section shall authorize the maintenance of a public or private nuisance as defined under provisions of law other than chapter 10 (commencing with section 22650) of division 11 of the Vehicle Code and this chapter.
This article is not the exclusive regulation of abandoned, wrecked,
dismantled or inoperative vehicles within the city. It shall supplement
and be in addition to the other regulatory codes, statutes and ordinances
heretofore or hereafter enacted by the city, the state or any other
legal entity or agency having jurisdiction.
[Ord. No. 494 § 4.]
Except as otherwise provided, the provisions of this article
shall be administered and enforced by the chief of police. In the
enforcement of this article, such officer and his deputies may enter
upon private or public property to examine a vehicle or parts thereof,
or obtain information as to the identity of a vehicle declared to
be a nuisance pursuant to this article.
[Ord. No. 494, § 5.]
When the city council has contracted with or granted a franchise
to any person, such person shall be authorized to enter upon private
property or public property to remove or cause the removal of a vehicle
or parts thereof declared to be a nuisance pursuant to this article.
[Ord. No. 494, § 6.]
The city council shall from time to time determine and fix an
amount to be assessed as administrative costs, excluding the actual
cost of removal of any vehicle or part thereof, under this article.
[Ord. No. 494, §§ 7,
8; Ord. No. 554, § 1.]
(a)
Not less than ten days notice of intention to abate and remove the
vehicle or part thereof as a public nuisance shall be given. Such
notice shall contain a statement of the hearing rights of the owner
of the property on which the vehicle is located and of the owner of
the vehicle. The statement shall include notice to the property owner
that he may appear in person at a hearing or may present a sworn written
statement denying responsibility for the presence of the vehicle on
the land, with his reasons for such denial, in lieu of appearing.
A notice of intention to abate shall be mailed, by registered mail,
to the owner of the land as shown on the last equalized assessment
role and to the last registered and legal owner of record unless the
vehicle is in such condition that identification numbers are not available
to determine ownership.
(b)
A public hearing shall be held before the city administrator, upon
request for such a hearing by the owner of the vehicle or the owner
of the land on which such vehicle was located. This request shall
be made to the city administrator within ten days after the mailing
of notice of intention to abate and remove the vehicle. If the owner
of the land on which the vehicle is located submits a sworn written
statement denying responsibility for the presence of the vehicle on
his land within such time, this statement shall be construed as a
request for hearing which does not require the presence of the owner
submitting such request. If such a request is not received in such
period, the city administrator shall have the authority to remove
the vehicle.
[Ord. No. 494, § 9; Ord. No. 554, § 1.]
All hearings under this article shall be held before the city
administrator, who shall hear all facts and testimony he deems pertinent.
Such facts and testimony may include testimony on the condition of
the vehicle or part thereof and the circumstances concerning its location
on the private property or public property. The administrator shall
not be limited by the technical rules of evidence. The owner of the
land on which the vehicle is located may appear in person at the hearing
or present a written sworn statement, and deny responsibility for
the presence of the vehicle on the land, with his reasons for such
denial.
The city administrator may impose such conditions and take such
other action as he deems appropriate under the circumstances to carry
out the purpose of this article. He may delay the time for removal
of the vehicle or part thereof if, in his opinion, the circumstances
justify it. At the conclusion of the public hearing, the city administrator
may find that a vehicle or part thereof has been abandoned, wrecked,
dismantled or is inoperative on private or public property and order
the same removed from the property as a public nuisance and disposed
of as hereinafter provided and determine the administrative costs
and the cost of removal to be charged against the owner of the parcel
of land on which the vehicle or part thereof is located. The order
requiring removal shall include a description of the vehicle or part
thereof and the correct identification number and license number of
the vehicle, if available at the site.
If it is determined at the hearing that the vehicle was placed
on the land without the consent of the landowner and that he has not
subsequently acquiesced in its presence, the city administrator shall
not assess costs of administration or removal of the vehicle against
the property upon which the vehicle is located or otherwise attempt
to collect such costs from such landowner.
If an interested party makes a written presentation to the city
administrator but does not appear, he shall be notified in writing
of the decision.
[Ord. No. 494, § 10.]
Five days after adoption of the order declaring the vehicle or part thereof to be a public nuisance, five days from the date of mailing of notice of the decision, if such notice is required by section 18-20, the vehicle or part thereof may be disposed of by removal to a scrapyard or automobile dismantler's yard. After the vehicle has been removed it shall not thereafter be reconstructed or made operable.
[Ord. No. 494, § 11.]
Within five days after the date of removal of the vehicle or
part thereof, notice shall be given to the department of motor vehicles
identifying the vehicle or part thereof removed. At the same time
there shall be transmitted to the department of motor vehicles any
evidence of registration available, including registration certificates,
certificates of title and license plates.
[Ord. No. 494, § 12.]
If the administrative costs and the cost of removal which are charged against the owner of a parcel of land pursuant to section 18-20 are not paid within thirty days of the date of the order, or the final disposition of an appeal therefrom, such costs shall be assessed against the parcel of land pursuant to section 38773. 5 of the Government Code of the state and shall be transmitted to the tax collector for collection. The assessment shall have the same priority as other city taxes.
[Ord. No. 494, § 13.]
It shall be unlawful and a misdemeanor for any person to fail
or refuse to remove an abandoned, wrecked, dismantled or inoperative
vehicle or part thereof or refuse to abate such nuisance when ordered
to do so in accordance with the abatement provisions of this article
or state law, where such state law is applicable.
