For the purposes of this article, the following terms shall have the meanings herein described:
Antique vehicle.
A passenger car or truck that is at least thirty-five (35) years old.
Demolisher.
Any person whose business is to convert a motor vehicle into processed scrap or scrap metal or otherwise wreck or dismantle a motor vehicle.
Junked vehicle.
A vehicle that is self-propelled and:
(1) 
Does not have lawfully attached to it an unexpired license plate; and
(2) 
Is:
(A) 
Wrecked, dismantled or partially dismantled, or discarded; or
(B) 
Inoperable and has remained inoperable for more than:
(i) 
Seventy-two (72) consecutive hours, if the vehicle is on public property; or
(ii) 
Ten (10) consecutive days, if the vehicle is on private property.
Motor vehicle collector.
A person who:
(1) 
Owns one (1) or more antique or special interest vehicles; and
(2) 
Acquires, collects, or disposes of an antique or special interest vehicle or part of an antique or special interest vehicle for personal use to restore and preserve an antique or special interest vehicle for historic interest.
Person.
Any individual, firm, partnership, association, corporation, company, or organization of any kind.
Special interest vehicle.
A motor vehicle of any age that has not been changed from original manufacturer’s specifications and, because of its historic interest, is being preserved by a hobbyist.
(Ordinance 2000-58, sec. 3, adopted 11/13/00; Ordinance 2001-59, sec. 2, adopted 9/10/01; Ordinance 2007-043, sec. 2, adopted 10/22/07; Ordinance 2015-010, sec. 2, adopted 4/13/15; 1988 Code, sec. 19-16)
A junked vehicle, including a part of a junked vehicle, that is visible from a public place or public right-of-way:
(1) 
Is detrimental to the safety and welfare of the public;
(2) 
Tends to reduce the value of private property;
(3) 
Invites vandalism;
(4) 
Creates a fire hazard;
(5) 
Is an attractive nuisance creating a hazard to the health and safety of minors;
(6) 
Produces urban blight adverse to the maintenance and continuing development of municipalities; and
(7) 
Is a public nuisance.
(Ordinance 2000-058, sec. 3, adopted 11/13/00; 1988 Code, sec. 19-17)
(a) 
A person commits an offense if the person maintains a public nuisance as described by section 8.11.002 of this article, or fails to comply with an order following public hearing as provided in section 8.11.006 herein.
(b) 
An offense under this section is a misdemeanor, subject to prosecution in the municipal court of the city, and is punishable by a fine in accordance with the general penalty provided in section 1.01.009.
(c) 
The municipal court shall have the authority to have a person convicted of the offense described in subsection (a) herein to abate and remove the nuisance, or to issue any other orders necessary to enforce the provisions of this article.
(Ordinance 2000-058, sec. 3, adopted 11/13/00; 1988 Code, sec. 19-18; Ordinance adopting 2021 Code)
The chief of police, his agent, any city police officer, or the code inspectors of the city may enter upon private property for the purposes specified in this article to examine vehicles or parts thereof, to obtain information as to the identity of vehicles, and to remove or cause the removal of a vehicle or parts thereof declared to be a nuisance pursuant to this article.
(Ordinance 2000-058, sec. 3, adopted 11/13/00; Ordinance 2002-028, sec. 3, adopted 5/13/02; 1988 Code, sec. 19-19)
(a) 
Prior to the abatement and removal of any public nuisance as provided in section 8.11.002, the persons authorized by section 8.11.004 to administer this article shall personally deliver written notice or send written notice by certified mail with a five (5) day return requested or deliver written notice by the United States Postal Service with signature confirmation service to:
(1) 
The last known registered owner of the nuisance;
(2) 
Each lienholder of record of the nuisance; and
(3) 
The owner or occupant of:
(A) 
The property on which the nuisance is located; or
(B) 
If the nuisance is located on a public right-of-way, the property adjacent to the right-of-way.
(b) 
Such notice shall state:
(1) 
The nature of the public nuisance;
(2) 
That the nuisance must be abated and removed not later than the tenth day after the date on which the notice was personally delivered or mailed; and
(3) 
That any request for a hearing must be made before the ten (10) day period expires.
(c) 
If the post office address of the last known registered owner of the nuisance is unknown, notice may be placed on the nuisance or, if the owner is located, hand delivered.
(d) 
If notice is returned undelivered, action to abate the nuisance shall be continued to a date not earlier than the eleventh day after the date of the return.
(e) 
The relocation of a junked vehicle that is a public nuisance under section 8.11.002 to another location in the city after notice has been given in accordance with this section shall have no effect on the city’s ability to continue to remove and destroy the vehicle if the junked vehicle constitutes a public nuisance at the new location.
(Ordinance 2000-058, sec. 3, adopted 11/13/00; Ordinance 2007-043, sec. 3, adopted 10/22/07; Ordinance 2015-010, sec. 3, adopted 4/13/15; 1988 Code, sec. 19-20)
A public hearing shall be held, on the request of a person who receives notice as provided by section 8.11.005, if the request is made not later than the date by which the nuisance must be abated and removed (ten (10) days). The hearing shall be held not earlier than the eleventh day after the date of the service of notice. The hearing provided for herein shall be conducted by the city manager, or his designee. At the hearing, the junked vehicle is presumed, unless demonstrated otherwise by the owner, to be inoperable. Following such hearing, and if the information is available at the location of the nuisance, an order requiring removal of the nuisance shall include the vehicle’s description, vehicle identification number, and license plate number. Failure to comply with any order issued as a result of a hearing shall constitute an offense in accordance with section 8.11.003 of this article.
(Ordinance 2000-058, sec. 3, adopted 11/13/00; Ordinance 2007-043, sec. 4, adopted 10/22/07; 1988 Code, sec. 19-21)
If, within ten (10) days after receipt of notice as provided in section 8.11.005 hereof, the owner or occupant of the premises on which a nuisance is located shall give written permission to an authorized representative of the city as provided in section 8.11.004 hereof for removal of the junked motor vehicle from the premises, the giving of such permission shall be considered compliance with the provisions of this article.
(Ordinance 2000-058, sec. 3, adopted 11/13/00; 1988 Code, sec. 19-22)
(a) 
If a public nuisance, as described in section 8.11.002 hereof, is not abated after notice is given in accordance with this article, the city may take action to abate such nuisance. Junked vehicles or parts thereof may be disposed of by removal to a scrap yard, demolisher, or any suitable site operated by the city or the county for processing as scrap or salvage. A junked vehicle disposed of to a demolisher, in accordance with this article, shall be transferred to such demolisher by a form or forms required by the state department of transportation.
(b) 
After a vehicle has been removed pursuant to this article, it shall not be reconstructed or made operable by any person.
(c) 
Notice shall be given to the state department of transportation not later than the fifth (5th) day after the date of removal identifying the vehicle or part of a vehicle so removed.
(Ordinance 2000-058, sec. 3, adopted 11/13/00; 1988 Code, sec. 19-23)
Procedures adopted under this article do not apply to a vehicle or vehicle part:
(1) 
That is completely enclosed in a building in a lawful manner and is not visible from the street or other public or private property;
(2) 
That is stored or parked in a lawful manner on private property in connection with the business of a licensed vehicle dealer or junkyard, or that is an antique or special interest vehicle stored by a motor vehicle collector on the collector’s property, if the vehicle or part and the outdoor storage area, if any, are:
(A) 
Maintained in an orderly manner;
(B) 
Not a health hazard; and
(C) 
Screened from ordinary public view by appropriate means, including a fence, rapidly growing trees, or shrubbery; or
(3) 
That is an antique or special interest vehicle stored by a motor vehicle collector on the collector’s property under an approved carport with a properly fitted and make/model specific car cover.
(Ordinance 2000-058, sec. 3, adopted 11/13/00; Ordinance 2015-022, sec. 2, adopted 9/14/15; 1988 Code, sec. 19-24)