[Adopted effective 7-1-1969; amended effective 10-30-1988 (§ 70 of the prior compilation)]
It shall be unlawful to abandon, store or permit the storage
of a junk vehicle on private lots or yards or anywhere in the open
within the Town of Winchester.
For the purposes of this article, the following definitions
shall apply:
A vehicle not housed in a structure or not completely shielded
from view.
Any unregistered motor vehicle, any uninspected motor vehicle,
any vehicle which has been abandoned, any vehicle which is incapable
of being lawfully operated on a public highway and any vehicle in
the state of major disrepair.
Includes any land which is privately owned within the Town
of Winchester and which is not properly licensed as a motor vehicle
junkyard.
In any prosecution charging a violation of this article, proof
that the defendant named in the complaint was the last registered
owner of such vehicle shall constitute a prima facie presumption that
such person was the person who abandoned such vehicle at the point
where and for the time during which such violation occurred.
Any person, firm or corporation who violates this article shall,
on conviction thereof, be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and shall
be punished by a fine of not more than $100.
The record owner of any property on which a junk vehicle is
stored or located in the open and the owner of said vehicle, on the
receipt of written notice from the Town of Winchester Police Department,
shall within the time stated in such notice remove such junk vehicle
or correct the condition stated in such notice. Should the owners,
after such service, and the lapse of time therein stated, fail, refuse
or neglect to remove said vehicle or correct such condition, the Police
Department of the Town of Winchester shall have the authority to make
a final determination as to the disposition of the vehicle. After
the issuance of written order of removal, the Chief of Police, or
any person or persons at his direction, is hereby authorized to go
upon the property and remove said junk vehicle and charge the owner
of either of them with the reasonable cost of said removal.
