No person shall leave unattended any motor vehicle, trailer, semitrailer or mobile home on any public street or highway or private or public property in the City of Rice Lake for such time and under such circumstances as to cause the vehicle to reasonably appear to have been abandoned. Whenever any such vehicle has been left unattended on any street or highway in the City of Rice Lake or upon private or public property without the permission of the property owner or other person charged with the lawful jurisdiction thereof for more than 72 hours, the vehicle shall be deemed abandoned and constitutes a public nuisance.
Any vehicle in violation of this article shall be removed and impounded until lawfully claimed or disposed of under the provisions of § 245-62.
The provisions of this section shall apply to the removal, storage, notice, reclaiming or disposal of abandoned vehicles.
A. 
Removal.
(1) 
Any police officer who discovers any motor vehicle, trailer, semitrailer or mobile home on any public street or highway or private or public property in the City of Rice Lake which has been abandoned shall cause the vehicle to be removed to a suitable place of impoundment.
(2) 
Upon removal of the vehicle the police officer shall notify the Police Chief or his designee of the abandonment and of the location of the impounded vehicle.
B. 
Storage and reclaiming. Any abandoned vehicle which is determined by the Police Chief or his designee to be abandoned shall be retained in storage for a period of 14 days after certified mail notice, as hereinafter provided, has been sent to the Wisconsin titled owner and/or secured party of record with the Wisconsin Motor Vehicle Division, except that if the Police Chief or his designee determines an abandoned vehicle to have a value of less than $100 or that the cost of towing and storage charges for impoundment will exceed the value of the vehicle, it may be junked or sold by direct sale to a licensed salvage dealer after having been retained in storage for a period of seven days and after certified mail notice, as hereinafter priced, has been sent to the Wisconsin titled owner or secured party of record with the Wisconsin Motor Vehicle Division, provided that it is first determined that the vehicle is not reported stolen or wanted for evidence or other reason. Any such vehicle which may be lawfully reclaimed may be released upon the payment of all accrued charges, including towing, storage and notice charges, and upon presentation of the vehicle title or other satisfactory evidence to the Police Chief or his designee to prove an ownership or secured party interest in said vehicle.
C. 
Notice to owner or secured party. Certified mail notice, as referred to herein, shall notify the Wisconsin titled owner of the abandoned vehicle, if any, and/or the secured party of record with the Wisconsin Motor Vehicle Division, if any, that the vehicle has been deemed abandoned and impounded by the City of Rice Lake; the determined value of the abandoned vehicle or if the cost of towing and storage charges will exceed the determined value of the vehicle; that if the vehicle is not wanted for evidence or other reason, the vehicle may be reclaimed upon the payment of all accrued charges, including towing, storage and notice charges, within 14 days of the date of notice, unless it has been determined that the vehicle has a value less than $100 or that the cost of towing and storage charges for impoundment will exceed the value of the vehicle, in which case the vehicle may be reclaimed within seven days upon the payment of the aforesaid charges; and that the owner or aforesaid secured party may, upon request, be granted a hearing relating to the determinations made with respect to said vehicle within the period that such vehicle may be reclaimed.
Any abandoned vehicle impounded by the City of Rice Lake which has not been reclaimed or junked or sold by direct sale to a licensed salvage dealer pursuant to the provisions of this article may be sold by public auction sale or public sale calling for the receipt of sealed bids. Class 1 notice, including the description of the vehicle, the name(s) and address(es) of the Wisconsin titled owner and secured party of record, if known, and the time of sale, shall be published before the sale.
Within five days after the direct sale or disposal of a vehicle as provided for herein, the Chief of Police or his designee shall advise the State of Wisconsin Department of Transportation, Division of Motor Vehicles, of such sale or disposal on a form supplied by said Division. A copy of the form shall be given to the purchaser of the vehicle.
The owner of any abandoned vehicle, except a stolen vehicle, is responsible for the abandonment and all costs of impounding and disposing of the vehicle. Costs not covered from the sale of the vehicle may be recovered in a civil action by the City against the owner.
In the event of any conflict between this article and any other provisions of this Municipal Code, this article shall control.
[Amended 3-8-2016 by Ord. No. 16-02]
A. 
Storage of automobiles restricted.
(1) 
No disassembled, inoperable, unlicensed, junked or wrecked motor vehicles, truck bodies, tractors, trailers, junk or appliances shall be stored or allowed to remain in the open upon private property within the City unless it is in connection with a properly licensed automotive or appliance sales, repair or storage business enterprise located in a properly zoned area.
(2) 
Any business engaged in automotive sales or repair may retain such vehicles in the open, on private property, for a period not to exceed three months, after which such vehicles must be enclosed by a screening or live planting to be approved by the Plan Commission.
B. 
Definitions. As used in this section, the following terms shall nave the meanings indicated:
DISASSEMBLED, INOPERABLE, JUNKED OR WRECKED MOTOR VEHICLES, TRUCK BODIES, TRACTORS OR TRAILERS
Motor vehicles, truck bodies, tractors or trailers in such state of physical or mechanical ruin as to be incapable of propulsion or being operated upon the public streets or highways.
INOPERABLE APPLIANCE
Any stove, washer or refrigerator which is no longer operable in the sense for which it was manufactured.
JUNK
Wood, bricks, broken concrete, cinder block, inoperable vehicles or machinery or parts thereof, refrigerators, furnaces, washing machines or dryers, stoves or other unsightly debris, such as may tend to depreciate property values in the area or create a nuisance or hazard.
MOTOR VEHICLE
As defined in W.S.A. § 340.01(35).
UNLICENSED MOTOR VEHICLES, TRUCK BODIES, TRACTORS OR TRAILERS
Motor vehicles, truck bodies, tractors or trailers which do not bear lawful current license plates.
C. 
Exceptions.
(1) 
This section shall not apply from May 1 to October 1 of each year to any bona fide stock car actually used for racing purposes. No person shall store or allow to remain in the open upon private property within the City limits more than two stock cars per year. Further, the owner or occupant of such premises shall register such stock car or cars with the Police Department by April 15 of each year for which the owner or occupant claims an exception.
(2) 
This section shall not apply to any motor vehicle or motor vehicle accessories stored within an enclosed building or on the premises of a business enterprise operated in a lawful place and manner when necessary to the operation of such business enterprise, or in a storage place or depository maintained in a lawful place and manner, or seasonable use vehicles, such as snowmobiles, motorcycles, motor scooters and nonmotorized campers, provided that such vehicles are stored in rear yard areas. Such business enterprises shall include auto junkyards and auto repair and body shops but shall not include automobile service stations or tire, battery and accessory sales stores, except those service stations which operate a duly licensed wrecker service. Also excepted are motor vehicles registered pursuant to W.S.A. §§ 341.265 and 341.266. In other situations, the Chief of Police may issue permits permitting an extension of not to exceed an additional 30 days' time to comply with this section where exceptional facts and circumstances warrant such extension.
D. 
Enforcement.
(1) 
Whenever the Police Department shall find any vehicles or appliances or junk, as described herein, placed or stored in the open upon private property within the City, it shall notify the owner of said property on which said vehicle or appliance or junk is stored of the violation of this section. If said vehicle or appliance is not removed within 10 days, the Police Department shall cause to be issued a citation to the property owner or tenant of the property upon which said vehicle or appliance is stored.
(a) 
Property owners shall bear the responsibility of complying with this section, including rental properties on which tenants may be violating this section. The City shall have the right to consider violations of this section when determining whether to renew or issue rental housing permits.
(b) 
If the Chief of Police or his/her designee has official Police Department documentation which shows that a person or property has previously received written notification within the past 12 months regarding violations under this section, the ten-day warning period is hereby waived, and official enforcement (citation) can occur immediately.
(c) 
After notification to remove any property under this chapter, no person shall move the same property to any other private property upon which such storage is not permitted or onto any public highway or other public property for purposes of open storage.
(2) 
If such vehicle or appliance is not removed within 10 days after issuance of a citation, the Chief of Police shall cause the vehicle or appliance to be removed and impounded, and it shall thereafter be disposed of as prescribed in §§ 245-62 through 245-65 by the Chief of Police or his duly authorized representative. Any cost incurred in the removal and sale of said vehicle or appliance shall be recovered from the owner. However, if the owner of the vehicle or appliance cannot readily be found, the cost of such removal shall be charged to the property from which it is removed, which charges shall be entered as a special charge on the tax roll.
E. 
Penalty. Any person who shall interfere with the enforcement of any of the provisions of this section and shall be found guilty thereof shall be subject to the general penalty as provided in Chapter 1, General Provisions, § 1-20 of this Code. Each motor vehicle or appliance involved shall constitute a separate offense.
State Law Reference: W.S.A. § 342.40.