In addition to and in accordance with the determination made and the authority granted by the state pursuant to the provisions of Section 22660 of the Vehicle Code of the state to remove abandoned, wrecked, dismantled, or inoperative vehicles, or parts thereof, as public nuisances, the Council hereby makes the following findings and declarations.
The accumulation and storage of abandoned, wrecked, dismantled, or inoperative vehicles, or parts thereof, on private or public property, not including highways, is 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 by the provisions of this chapter, is declared to constitute a public nuisance which may be abated as such in accordance with the provisions of this chapter.
(Ord. 395 § 1, 1976)
For the purposes of this chapter, unless otherwise apparent from the context, certain words and phrases used in this chapter are defined as follows:
"Highway"
means a way or place of whatever nature, publicly maintained and open to the use of the public for the purposes of vehicular travel. "Highway" includes "street."
"Public property"
does not include "highway."
"Vehicle"
means 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. 395 § 1, 1976)
A. 
The provisions of this chapter shall not apply to the following:
1. 
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; or
2. 
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, or junk dealer, or when such storage or parking is necessary to the operation of a lawfully conducted business or commercial enterprise.
B. 
The provisions of this section shall not authorize the maintenance of a public or private nuisance as defined pursuant to provisions of law other than Chapter 10 (commencing with Section 22650) of Divisions 11 of the Vehicle Code of the state and this chapter.
(Ord. 395 § 1, 1976)
The provisions of this chapter are not the exclusive regulation of abandoned, wrecked, dismantled, or inoperative vehicles within the city. The provisions of this chapter shall supplement and be in addition to the other regulatory codes, statutes, and laws heretofore or hereafter enacted by the city, state, or any other legal entity or agency having jurisdiction.
(Ord. 395 § 1, 1976)
Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, the provisions of this chapter shall be administered and-enforced by the city manager or his or her designated representatives. In the enforcement of the provisions of this chapter, such officer, his or her deputies, or city police officers, firefighters, health officers, or building inspectors may enter upon private or public property to examine a vehicle, or parts thereof, or obtain information as to the identity of a vehicle and to remove or cause the removal of a vehicle, or part thereof, declared to be a nuisance pursuant to the provisions of this chapter provided such persons are regularly salaried full-time employees of the city.
(Ord. 395 § 1, 1976)
When the council has contracted with or granted a franchise to any person, that 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. the provisions of this chapter.
(Ord. 395 § 1, 1976)
The 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, for the purposes of administering the provisions of this chapter.
(Ord. 395 § 1, 1976)
A. 
A notice of intention to abate and remove the vehicle as public nuisance shall be given at least ten days prior to the abatement thereof. The notice shall be mailed at least ten days before the hearing by registered or certified mail to the owner of the land as shown on the last equalized county assessment 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. The notice shall read as follows:
NOTICE OF INTENTION TO ABATE PUBLIC NUISANCE
TO: The registered and legal owners of the motor vehicle described herein and to the owner of the land upon which it is located.
PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that a certain
(Make, model, license number, and/or engine number)
is in an abandoned, wrecked, dismantled, or inoperative condition upon property located at_____________________and constitutes a public nuisance.
The City of Industry intends to remove said vehicle from said location and abate said. public nuisance at the expiration of ten days from the date of mailing of this notice.
You and each of you may request a hearing before the City Manager of said City within ten days of the date of mailing hereof. You may appear in person at said hearing.
The owner of the property may personally appear at said hearing or may, in lieu of personally appearing, submit a sworn written statement denying responsibility for the vehicle on his or her land within the said ten day period. Said statement shall contain his or her reason for such denial, and shall constitute a request for a hearing.
The cost of removal may be charged against the owner of the parcel of land on which the vehicle, or part thereof, is located.
DATED: This ____day of _______20__.
____________________
City Manager
If no hearing is requested, the city manager or his or her designated representative may order the removal of the vehicle from the property as a public nuisance at the conclusion of the ten day notice period 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.
(Ord. 395 § 1, 1976)
A. 
All hearings held pursuant to the provisions of this chapter shall be held before the city manager or one or more persons designated by him as hearing officer, who shall hear all facts and testimony deemed pertinent. Such facts and testimony may include testimony on the condition of the vehicle, or part thereof, and the circumstances concerning its location on private property or public property. The hearing officer 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 sworn written statement denying responsibility for the presence of the vehicle on the land, with his or her reasons for such denial.
B. 
The hearing officer may impose such conditions and take such other action as he or she deems appropriate under the circumstances to carry out the purposes of this chapter. He or she may delay the time for removal of the vehicle, or part thereof, if, in his or her opinion, the circumstances so justify. At the conclusion of the public hearing, the hearing officer may find that a vehicle, or part thereof, has been abandoned, wrecked, dismantled, or is inoperative on private or public property, order it removed from the property; as a public nuisance and disposed of as provided in this chapter, 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.
C. 
If it is determined at the hearing that the vehicle was placed on the land without the consent of the landowner and that he or she has not subsequently acquiesced in its presence, the hearing officer shall not assess costs of administration for removal of the vehicle against the property upon which the vehicle is located or otherwise attempt to collect such costs from the landowner.
D. 
If an interested person makes a written presentation to the hearing officer but does not appear, such interested person shall be notified in writing of the decision.
(Ord. 395 § 1, 1976)
A. 
Any interested person may appeal the decision of the hearing officer by filing a written notice of appeal with the hearing officer within five days after his or her decision.
B. 
The appeal shall be heard by the council, which may affirm, amend, or reverse the order or take any other action deemed appropriate.
C. 
The city clerk shall give written notice of the time and place of the hearing to the appellant and those persons set forth in Section 10.48.080.
D. 
In conducting the hearing the council shall not be limited by the technical rules of evidence.
(Ord. 395 § 1, 1976)
Five days after the adoption of the order declaring the vehicle, or parts thereof, to be a public nuisance, or five days from the date of mailing of the notice of the decision, if such notice is required by the provisions of Section 10.48.090 of this chapter, or fifteen days after such action of the council authorizing removal following an appeal, the vehicle, or parts thereof, may be disposed of by removal to a scrapyard or automobile dismantler's yard. After a vehicle has been removed it shall not thereafter be reconstructed or made operable, unless it is a. vehicle which qualifies for either horseless carriage license plates or historical vehicle license plates pursuant to Section 5004 of the California Vehicle Code, in which case the vehicle may be reconstructed or made operable.
(Ord. 395 § 1, 1976)
Within five days after the date of removal of the vehicle, or part thereof, notice shall be given to the Department of Motor Vehicles of the state 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, but not limited to, registration certificates of title or license plates.
(Ord. 395 § 1, 1976)
If the administrative costs and the costs of removal which are charged against the owner of a parcel of land pursuant to the provisions of Section 10.48.040 of this chapter are not paid within thirty days from the date of the order, or the final disposition of an appeal therefrom, the costs shall be assessed against the parcel of land pursuant to the provisions of 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 or county taxes.
(Ord. 395 § 1, 1976)
It is unlawful and a misdemeanor for any person to abandon, park, store, or leave, or permit the abandonment, parking, storing, or leaving, of any licensed or unlicensed vehicle, or part thereof, which is in an abandoned, wrecked, dismantled, or inoperative condition upon any private property or public property, not including highways, within the city for a period in excess of ten days unless the vehicle, or part thereof, is completely enclosed within a building in a lawful manner where it is not plainly visible from the street or other public or private property, or unless the vehicle is stored or parked in a lawful manner on private property in connection with the business of a licensed dismantler, licensed vehicle dealer, or a junk yard.
(Ord. 395 § 1, 1976)
It is unlawful and a misdemeanor for any person to fail or refuse to remove an abandoned, wrecked, dismantled, or inoperative vehicle, or part thereof, or to refuse to abate such nuisance when ordered to do so in accordance with the abatement provisions of this chapter or state law where such state law is applicable.
(Ord. 395 § 1, 1976)