Junked vehicles which are located in any place where they are visible from a public place or public right-of-way are detrimental to the safety and welfare of the general public, reduce the value of private property, invite vandalism, create fire hazards, constitute an attractive nuisance creating a hazard to the health and safety of minors, and are detrimental to the economical welfare of the state by producing urban blight which is adverse to the maintenance and continuing development of the city, and such vehicles are therefore declared to be a public nuisance.
(Ordinance 13-04 adopted 7/18/13; 1994 Code, sec. 93.22)
The police department of the city, when desiring to remove and dispose of junked vehicles as public nuisances from private property, public property or public rights-of-way, shall comply with the following procedures:
(1) 
A notice of not less than ten days, stating the nature of the public nuisance on private property and that it must be removed and abated within ten days, and further, that a request for a hearing must be made before the expiration of said ten-day period, such notice to be mailed by certified mail with a five-day return receipt requested, must be sent to the last known registered owner, any lienholder of record and the owner or occupant of the private premises on which the public nuisance exists. If the notice is returned undelivered by the United States Postal Service, official action to abate such nuisance shall be continued to a date not less than ten days from the date of such return;
(2) 
The requirements of subsection (1) above shall apply to the case of a public nuisance on public property or on a public right-of-way, and such notice shall be sent to the last known registered owner of the junked motor vehicle, any lienholder of record and to the owner or the occupant of the premises adjacent to the public right-of-way whereupon such public nuisance exists;
(3) 
Once a junked vehicle has been removed under the provisions of this section, it shall not be reconstructed or made operable;
(4) 
Where a hearing is requested by the owner or occupant of the public or private premises, or by the owner or occupant of the premises adjacent to the public right-of-way on which such a vehicle is located, within ten days after service of notice to abate the nuisance, a public hearing prior to the removal of the vehicle or part thereof as a public nuisance must be held before the municipal judge of the city. It shall be the responsibility of the city prosecuting attorney to prosecute the case on behalf of the police department, and should the municipal judge find that such vehicle is a public nuisance as defined herein, he shall enter an order requiring the removal of the vehicle or part thereof from the public or private property or public right-of-way where it is situated, and such order shall include a description of the vehicle and the correct identification number and license number of the vehicle, if available at the site;
(5) 
The police department shall give notice to the state department of transportation within five days after the date of removal of the vehicle, identifying the vehicle or part thereof;
(6) 
The procedures set out in this section shall not apply to 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, 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 vehicle dealer or a junkyard, or to unlicensed operable or inoperable antique or special interest vehicles stored by a collector on his property, provided that the vehicle and outdoor storage areas are maintained in such a manner that they do not constitute a health hazard and are screened from ordinary public view by means of a fence, rapidly growing trees, shrubbery or other appropriate means;
(7) 
The administration of the procedures of this section shall be carried out by regularly salaried, full-time employees of the city, except that the removal of vehicles or parts thereof from property may be accomplished by any other duly authorized person, including wrecker service operators within the city who have a valid and subsisting contract; and
(8) 
If the nuisance is not removed and abated and a hearing is not requested within the ten-day period provided, a complaint may be filed in municipal court for the violation of maintaining a public nuisance. Any person found guilty of maintaining a public nuisance as defined in this article shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and be subject to a fine for each offense, and the municipal court shall order removal and abatement of the nuisance.
(Ordinance 13-04 adopted 7/18/13; 1994 Code, sec. 93.23)
Junked vehicles or parts thereof may be disposed of by removal to a scrap yard, demolisher or any suitable site operated by the city for processing as scrap or salvage.
(Ordinance 13-04 adopted 7/18/13; 1994 Code, sec. 93.24)