This chapter shall be known as the "Cowlitz County Junk Vehicle Nuisance Ordinance."
(Ord. 96-111 § 1, 7-15-1996)
A.
All property owners have the right to the full use and enjoyment of their property where such use does not infringe on the rights of adjacent property owners.
B.
In instances where an individual's actions significantly infringe on the use and enjoyment rights of adjacent property owners, the county may act to abate a nuisance.
C.
The keeping of public nuisance junk vehicles, parts thereof, and automobile hulks creates conditions that reduce the value of adjacent private property, become hiding places for rodents, breeding places for mosquitoes and other insects, safety hazards for children, environmental hazards to the soils, surface and groundwaters, and blights on the landscape, all detrimental to the health, safety, welfare, peace and well-being of the general public. Therefore, the purpose and intent of this chapter is to regulate the proliferation of junk vehicles, declare junk vehicles a public nuisance, and to provide for and implement the removal of abandoned and junk vehicles, parts thereof, and automobile hulks from public and private property as authorized pursuant to RCW 46.55.240.
(Ord. 96-111 § 2, 7-15-1996)
Specific words and terms used in this chapter shall have the following meanings:
means to correct the condition in question by such means and in such a manner and to such an extent as the Director determines is necessary in the interest of the health, safety and welfare of the general public.
means silent agreement to allow a condition to continue; to have knowledge of an action or occurrence and remain quietly accepting of it.
means the director of the Cowlitz County department assigned to administer and enforce this chapter or his/her designee. Such person is responsible for investigating and determining junk vehicle status and issuing a notice to abate a public nuisance junk vehicle, or a notice of infraction.
means the body, engine and short blocks, frames, transmissions or transfer cases, cabs, doors, front or rear differentials, front or rear clips, quarter panels or fenders, bumpers, truck beds or boxes, seats, hoods and other parts and remains of a motor vehicle, whether abandoned or not.
means to take or to acquiesce delivery of a public nuisance junk vehicle from the junk vehicle owner to a landowner.
means the Cowlitz County Board of Commissioners.
means the owner of one or more vehicles described in RCW 46.16.305(1) who collects, purchases, acquires, trades, or disposes of the vehicle or parts of it, for his or her personal use, in order to preserve, restore, and maintain the vehicle for hobby or historical purposes.
means a horseless carriage or other vehicle 30 years or older that is being preserved and restored by its owner.
means days the County Administration Building is open for business, unless otherwise stipulated.
means the Cowlitz County department assigned the responsibility for administration and enforcement of this chapter.
means the Director of the Department, or designee.
for the purposes of this chapter, means a permanent solid visual barrier constructed of solid wood, stone, brick, earth, or other approved material of such density and height that what is stored behind the fence is not visible from other public or private property or from a public or private road.
means to take and hold a vehicle in legal custody. There are two types of impound, public and private:
"Public impound"
means that the vehicle has been impounded at the direction of a law enforcement officer or by a public official having jurisdiction over the public property upon which the vehicle was located.
"Private impound"
means that the vehicle has been impounded at the direction of a person having control or possession of the private property upon which the vehicle was located.
means a vehicle, or parts thereof, that meets at least three of the following criteria:
Is three years old or older;
Is extensively damaged, such damage including but not limited to any of the following: a broken window or windshield, or missing wheels, tires, motor, or transmission;
Is apparently inoperable;
Has an approximate fair market value equal only to the approximate value of the scrap in it.
For purposes of this definition, the term may include a junk vehicle as defined herein, parts of a vehicle, automobile hulk, or a wrecked vehicle. This definition shall be as defined at RCW 46.55.010(4), as now enacted or hereafter amended. |
means the owner of record of the land on which a junk vehicle is stored, kept, placed, or otherwise located, and/or a person with possession or control of such private property.
means a motor vehicle that is owned by a collector to furnish parts for restoration or maintenance of a vehicle described in RCW 46.16.305(1), thus enabling a collector to preserve, restore, and maintain such a vehicle.
means any human being, organization, corporation, partnership, or governmental unit, and includes any of their agents or representatives.
means any land owned or maintained by a public agency.
means a licensed establishment that maintains a hydraulic baler and shears, or a shredder for recycling salvage.
means every device that is normally required to have an annual license and registration in order to legally travel on public roadways.
means a vehicle which is disassembled or dismantled; a vehicle which is acquired with the intent to dismantle or disassemble and never again to operate as a vehicle; or a vehicle which has sustained such damage that its cost to repair exceeds the fair market value of a like vehicle or equals or exceeds its fair market value if repaired; or a vehicle which has sustained such damage or deterioration that it may not lawfully operate upon the highways of this state for which the salvage value plus cost to repair exceeds its fair market value, if repaired. It is presumed that a vehicle is a wreck if it has sustained such damage or deterioration that it may not lawfully operate upon the highways of this state.
(Ord. 96-111 § 3, 7-15-1996)
The storing or keeping of three or more junk vehicles where such vehicles, or parts thereof, are visible from a public or private street or road or from other public or private property located within 1,000 feet of the subject junk vehicle(s), other than that of the last registered junk vehicle owner or a landowner on whose property the junk vehicle is stored, is declared to be a public nuisance, except as provided in CCC § 10.27.050. The landowner and/or last registered owner of a public nuisance junk vehicle as declared herein shall take such measures as required pursuant to this chapter to abate a public nuisance.
(Ord. 96-111 § 4, 7-15-1996)
The following shall be exempt from the provisions of this chapter:
A.
A junk vehicle that is completely enclosed within a building in a lawful manner where it is not visible from a public or private street or road or other public or private property;
B.
A junk vehicle that is stored or parked in a lawful manner on private property in connection with the business of a licensed dismantler/wrecker where the premises are fenced according to RCW 46.80.130 and CCC § 18.16.040(F), as now enacted or hereafter amended;
C.
A junk vehicle that is stored or parked in a lawful manner on private property in connection with the business of a licensed vehicle dealer as defined at RCW 46.70.011(3), provided the junk vehicle is fenced according to RCW 46.80.130, as now enacted or hereafter amended, and the junk vehicle is not visible from other public or private property;
D.
One parts car owned by a collector, provided the parts vehicle shall be dismantled and the parts stored within a building, or in a manner where neither the vehicle nor parts is visible from public or private property, within 180 days of purchase; provided further, the parts vehicle shall be registered to or owned by the property owner at the time of dismantling. Upon completion of dismantling, the hulk or remains shall be disposed of in a legal manner;
E.
One inoperable collector or noncollector vehicle in the process of restoration to operable condition, may be visible provided the vehicle shall be registered to or owned by the property owner;
F.
Storage of three or more junk vehicles enclosed by a fence, as defined herein, eight feet or more in height sufficient to conceal the visibility of any such vehicle from private or public roads and from any other public or private property; provided, each vehicle shall be registered to or owned by the property owner. A hedge or other vegetation of such density, eight feet or more in height, and of such habit of growth that no junk vehicle stored behind such hedge or vegetation shall be visible from public or private roads or other public or private property may be substituted for a fence;
(Ord. 96-111 § 5, 7-15-1996)
The following shall constitute abatement under this chapter:
A.
Enclosure of junk vehicle stored completely within a building in a lawful manner where such junk vehicle is not visible from a public or private street or other public or private property; or
B.
A junk vehicle stored or parked in a lawful manner on the premises of a licensed wrecker or dismantler, provided such premises is licensed and fenced according to RCW 46.80.130, and CCC § 18.16.040(F), as now enacted or hereafter amended; or
C.
A junk vehicle stored or parked in a lawful manner on the premises of a licensed vehicle dealer, provided the premises is fenced according to RCW 46.80.130, as now enacted or hereafter amended, so that any such junk vehicle is not visible from public or private property other than that of the dealer;
(Ord. 96-111 § 6, 7-15-1996)
A.
Upon receipt of a complaint or discovery of an alleged public nuisance junk vehicle, the administrator shall determine if the junk vehicle is a public nuisance. The administrator shall issue a notice to abate the public nuisance to the last registered vehicle owner(s) of record and to the landowner on whose property the vehicle is located. The notice shall:
1.
Order abatement of the junk vehicle within 15 days of receipt of the notice;
2.
Notify the landowner and last registered owner of the junk vehicle that failure to abate the nuisance within 15 days will result in issuance of a notice of infraction for each day the vehicle remains unabated on the site;
3.
Notify the landowner that he may request a hearing before the director to disclaim ownership of the junk vehicle, or deny that he did acquiesce to the presence of the junk vehicle on the land, and that if no hearing is requested, the junk vehicle shall be abated within 15 days from the date the notice is received;
4.
Notify the landowner and last registered owner of the junk vehicle that it is the county's intent to take possession of and dispose of the junk vehicle if the public nuisance remains unabated or the vehicle is unclaimed; and
5.
Notify the landowner and last registered owner of the junk vehicle that all costs for abatement and disposal of such junk vehicle are the personal obligations of the landowner and/or last registered owner.
B.
Notice. The notice required by this chapter shall be prepared by the administrator.
(Ord. 96-111 § 7, 7-15-1996)
A.
If the landowner claims ownership interest or bailment responsibility for the junk vehicle located on the property, and does not within 15 days after notification, abate or agree to abate the public nuisance by a date certain, the administrator shall issue a notice of infraction pursuant to Chapter 2.06 CCC.
B.
If the landowner claims no ownership interest or bailment responsibility for a junk vehicle, and such landowner has not acquiesced to the presence of the junk vehicle, he shall request a hearing and shall appear in person to disclaim ownership, or execute under penalty of perjury a statement to that effect, and submit such statement in time for the hearing.
C.
Any request for hearing and any statement disclaiming ownership shall be filed with the administrator no more than 15 days after issuance of the notice of abatement, either by certified mail return receipt requested or in person. The postal stamp date or receipt date stamped by the Department shall determine whether the landowner complies with the 15-day deadline under this subsection.
D.
A landowner may request assistance to abate a junk vehicle any time before the hearing is held. The administrator shall work with the landowner to complete Washington State form TD-420-549 and as it may be amended, to allow the landowner to notify the last registered junk vehicle owner that he intends to obtain title to the vehicle, and to have such vehicle removed from the property by a legal means.
(Ord. 96-111 § 8, 7-15-1996)
A.
Upon receipt of a request for hearing, the administrator shall issue a notice of hearing to the landowner and to the last registered and legal owner of record of the junk vehicle, if such can be determined, by certified mail, return receipt requested, identifying the date, time and place of the hearing. Such hearing shall be held no later than 20 days from the date the request was received.
B.
If it is determined at the hearing that the vehicle was placed on the land without the consent of the landowner, that he has not acquiesced to its presence, and that he does not claim an ownership interest in such vehicle, then the county shall not assess costs of administration or the removal of the junk vehicle against the property upon which the vehicle is located, or otherwise attempt to collect costs from the landowner. The administrator may assist the landowner with the procedures and forms necessary to removing a junk vehicle from the premises, or the administrator may proceed to take custody and dispose of the junk vehicle as allowed in this chapter. The vehicle shall remain on the land until custody of the vehicle has been assumed by the county, and removal arranged.
C.
To obtain custody of the junk vehicle, the administrator shall publish a legal notice of intent to assume ownership, take custody and dispose of such junk vehicle. If a junk vehicle remains unclaimed more than 20 days after publication of the notice to assume ownership, the administrator may have the junk vehicle removed by a registered tow truck operator or a licensed wrecking yard operator and transported to a licensed wrecker with notice to the Washington State Patrol and Washington State Department of Licensing that the junk vehicle has been wrecked.
(Ord. 96-111 § 9, 7-15-1996)
If a landowner, or a junk vehicle owner fails to abate a junk vehicle public nuisance as ordered pursuant to this ordinance, the administrator shall issue a notice of infraction pursuant to Chapter 2.06 CCC, as now enacted or hereafter amended, shall take all necessary action to remove the junk vehicle in conformance with this chapter, and shall dispose of the junk vehicle as provided by law.
(Ord. 96-111 § 10, 7-15-1996)
Except as may be provided in CCC § 10.27.090(B), the last registered vehicle owner and/or the landowner on whose property the junk vehicle is stored shall be responsible for all costs of removal of a junk vehicle including but not limited to all associated administration, storage, inspection, transport, scrap and/or wrecking expenses, legal fees, and all other associated costs. The last registered vehicle owner and/or the landowner shall also be responsible for all administration and court costs when the county prevails in a legal action. The Prosecuting Attorney shall be authorized to file a lien against the land on which the junk vehicle is located, or on property owned by the last registered owner of the junk vehicle, or such other action as may be necessary to collect the incurred costs. Record of any lien ordered by the Court shall also be recorded in the records of the County Auditor. Liens shall remain in effect until foreclosure, the property is sold and the amount collected, or 10 years, whichever comes first.
(Ord. 96-111 § 11, 7-15-1996)
The landowner and/or last registered vehicle owner may appeal a decision of the Director to Cowlitz County Superior Court, provided such appeal shall be filed no later than 20 days following a decision of the Director.
(Ord. 96-111 § 12, 7-15-1996)
A.
The Board does establish a Junk Vehicle Removal Fund. The fund shall be used to remove junk vehicles from properties, and for abatement and administration of this chapter as may be necessary.
B.
The Board may contract with a junk vehicle wrecker to remove junk vehicles pursuant to this ordinance. Any junk vehicle removed from property shall be disposed of in a legal manner, and notice that the vehicle has been wrecked shall be filed as required pursuant to law.
(Ord. 96-111 § 13, 7-15-1996)
If any section, subsection, or other portion of this chapter is for any reason held invalid or unconstitutional by any court of competent jurisdiction, such section, subsection, or portion thereof shall be deemed a separate provision of this chapter and such holding shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this chapter.
(Ord. 96-111 § 14, 7-15-1996)
The ordinance codified in this chapter shall become effective January 1, 1997.
(Ord. 96-111 § 15, 7-15-1996)