ARTICLE 3. JUNKED VEHICLES ON PRIVATE PROPERTY

8-301. FINDINGS OF GOVERNING BODY.

The governing body finds that junked, wrecked, dismantled, inoperative or abandoned vehicles affect the health, safety and general welfare of citizens of the city because they:

(a)    Serve as a breeding ground for flies, mosquitoes, rats and other insects and rodents;

(b)    Are a danger to persons, particularly children, because of broken glass, sharp metal protrusions, insecure mounting on blocks, jacks or other supports;

(c)    Are a ready source of fire and explosion;

(d)    Encourage pilfering and theft;

(e)    Constitute a blighting influence upon the area in which they are located;

(f)    Constitute a fire hazard because they frequently block access for fire equipment to adjacent buildings and structures.

(Ord. 1175; Ord. 1374)

8-302. NUISANCES UNLAWFUL; DEFINED; EXCEPTIONS.

It shall be unlawful for any person to maintain or permit any vehicle nuisance within the city.

(a)    A vehicle nuisance is any vehicle which is not currently registered or tagged pursuant to K.S.A. 8-126 to 8-149 inclusive, as amended; or parked in violation of city ordinance; or incapable of moving under its own power; or in a junked, wrecked or inoperable condition. Any one of the following conditions shall raise the presumption that a vehicle is junked, wrecked or inoperable:

(1)    Absence of a current registration plate upon the vehicle;

(2)    Placement of the vehicle or parts thereof upon jacks, blocks, or other supports;

(3)    Absence of one or more parts of the vehicle necessary for the lawful operation of the vehicle upon street or highway.

(b)    The provisions of this article shall not apply to:

(1)    Any vehicle which is enclosed in a garage or other building;

(2)    Any person conducting a business enterprise in compliance with existing zoning regulations or who places such vehicles behind screening of sufficient size, strength and density to screen such vehicles from the view of the public and to prohibit ready access to stored vehicles by children. However, nothing in this subsection shall be construed to authorize the maintenance of a public nuisance.

(Formerly 8-303. Ord. 1175; Ord. 1374)

8-303. COMPLAINTS; INQUIRY AND INSPECTION.

Any public officer shall make inquiry and inspection of premises upon receiving a complaint or complaints stating that a nuisance exists and describing the same and where located or being informed that a nuisance may exist by the police department, code enforcement officer or their qualified designee. A public officer may make such inquiry and inspection when he or she observes conditions which appear to constitute a nuisance. Upon making any inquiry and inspection a public officer shall make a written report of findings. (Formerly 8-305. Ord. 1175; Ord. 1374)

8-304. RIGHT OF ENTRY.

A public officer has the right of access and entry upon private property at any reasonable time for the purpose of making inquiry and inspection to determine if a nuisance exists. (Formerly 8-306. Ord. 1175; Ord. 1374)

8-305. VIOLATION.

(a)    A public officer may serve upon the person responsible for the property found by the public officer to be in violation of section 8-302 a citation with notice to appear in the municipal court of Tonganoxie, Kansas. The citation shall be served on the person responsible for the property by personal service by the code enforcement officer or any officer of the Tonganoxie police department or by certified mail, return receipt requested. If the property is unoccupied and the owner is a nonresident, then by mailing the citation by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the last known address of the owner.

(b)    If the owner or person responsible for the property has failed to accept delivery or otherwise failed to effectuate receipt of a notice or order sent pursuant to this section during the preceding 24-month period, the governing body of the city may provide notice of the issuance of any further citations to abate or remove a nuisance from such property or provide notice of the citation by such methods including, but not limited to, door hangers, conspicuously posting notice of such order on the property, personal notification, telephone communication or first class mail. If the property is unoccupied and the owner or person responsible for the property is a nonresident, notice provided by this section shall be given by telephone communication or first class mail.

(Formerly 8-307. Ord. 1175; Ord. 1325; Ord. 1374)

8-306. SAME; CONTENTS.

The citation shall state the condition(s) which is (are) in violation of section 8-302. The notice shall also inform the person, corporation, partnership or association that:

(a)    For the first offense by the defendant he, she or they shall have 10 days from the date of serving the order to abate the condition(s) in violation of section 8-302;

(b)    Failure to abate the condition(s) may result in prosecution of the citation as provided by section 8-307 and/or abatement of the condition(s) by the city as provided by section 8-308; or

(c)    After a first offense has been committed the officer may direct the defendant to appear in municipal court for any second or additional offenses and said appearance shall not be relieved by the abatement of the nuisance. A repeat offense is considered any event in which a public officer or the city has notified the person, corporation, partnership or association that its conduct has created a nuisance which may be prosecuted after the defendant has been notified at least once within the previous 24 months of a similar offense within this chapter. The first notice does not require a conviction in municipal court to be treated as a first offense.

(Formerly 8-308. Ord. 1175; Ord. 1325; Ord. 1357; Ord. 1374)

8-307. FAILURE TO COMPLY; PENALTY.

Should the person fail to comply with the notice to abate the nuisance or request a hearing, the public officer may file a complaint in the municipal court of the city against such person and upon conviction of any violation of provisions of section 8-302, be fined in an amount not to exceed $500 or be imprisoned not to exceed 30 days or be both fined and imprisoned. Each day during or on which a violation occurs or continues after notice has been served shall constitute an additional or separate offense.

No notice to abate shall be required for any person and their obligation to appear in court shall not be relieved when he/she receives a citation for a nuisance within the meaning of this section after he/she has received a notice or citation of the existence of a similar nuisance within the past 24 months. (Formerly 8-309. Ord. 1175; Ord. 1325; Ord. 1357; Ord. 1374)

8-308. ABATEMENT.

In addition to or as an alternative to prosecution as provided in section 8-307, a public officer may seek to remedy violations of this article in the following manner. If a person to whom an order has been sent pursuant to section 8-305 has neither alleviated the conditions causing the alleged violation nor requested a hearing before the governing body within the time period specified in section 8-306, a public officer may present a resolution to the governing body for adoption authorizing a public officer or other agents of the city to abate the conditions causing the violation at the end of 10 days after passage of the resolution.

The resolution shall further provide that the costs incurred by the city shall be charged against the lot or parcel of ground on which the nuisance was located as provided in section 8-310. A copy of the resolution shall be served upon the person in violation in one of the following ways:

(a)    Personal service upon the person in violation;

(b)    Service by certified mail, return receipt requested; or

(c)    In the event the whereabouts of such person are unknown and the same cannot be ascertained in the exercise of reasonable diligence, an affidavit to that effect shall be made by a public officer and filed with the city clerk, and the serving of the resolution shall be made by publishing the same once each week for two consecutive weeks in the official city newspaper and by posting a copy of the resolution on the premises where such condition exists.

(d)    If the person responsible for the property has failed to accept delivery or otherwise failed to effectuate receipt of a notice or order sent pursuant to this section during the preceding 24-month period, the governing body of the city may provide notice of the issuance of any further orders to abate or remove a nuisance from such property or provide notice of the order by such methods including, but not limited to, door hangers, conspicuously posting notice of such order on the property, personal notification, telephone communication or first class mail. If the property is unoccupied and the person responsible for the property or owner is a nonresident, notice provided by this section shall be given by telephone communication or first class mail.

The opportunity to remedy the violation by abatement shall not be required to be offered to any person who has received a citation or notification of a similar violation within this code section within the previous 24 months.

(Formerly 8-310. Ord. 1175; Ord. 1357; Ord. 1374)

8-309. DISPOSITION OF VEHICLE; RECOVERY OF VEHICLE.

(a)    Disposition of any vehicle removed and abated from private property pursuant to this article shall be as provided by K.S.A. Supp. 8-1102, as amended.

(b)    Any person attempting to recover a vehicle impounded as provided in this article shall show proof of valid registration and ownership of the vehicle before the vehicle shall be released. In addition, the person desiring the release of the vehicle shall pay all reasonable costs associated with the impoundment of the vehicle, including transportation and storage fees, prior to the release of the vehicle.

(Formerly 8-311. Ord. 1175; Ord. 1374)

8-310. COSTS ASSESSED.

If the city abates or removes the nuisance pursuant to section 8-308, the city shall give notice to the person responsible for the property by certified mail, return receipt requested, of the total cost of the abatement or removal incurred by the city. The notice shall also state that the payment is due within 30 days following receipt of the notice. The city also may recover the cost of providing notice, including any postage, required by this section. The notice shall also state that if the cost of the removal or abatement is not paid within the 30-day period, the cost of the abatement or removal shall be collected in the manner provided by K.S.A. 12-1,115, and amendments thereto, or shall be assessed as special assessments and charged against the lot or parcel of land on which the nuisance was located and the city clerk, at the time of certifying other city taxes, shall certify the unpaid portion of the costs and the county clerk shall extend the same on the tax rolls of the county against such lot or parcel of land and it shall be collected by the county treasurer and paid to the city as other city taxes are collected and paid. The city may pursue collection both by levying a special assessment and in the manner provided by K.S.A. 12-1,115, and amendments thereto, but only until the full cost and applicable interest have been paid in full. (Formerly 8-312. Ord. 1175; Ord. 1325; Ord. 1374)