Chapter 8.05
ABANDONED AND DISCARDED MOTOR VEHICLES
Sections:
8.05.010 State law adopted by reference.
8.05.030 Declaration of public policy.
8.05.070 Vehicles treated as discarded.
8.05.080 Procedures to be used in taking custody, removing, and disposing of discarded vehicles.
8.05.090 Processing of violations and penalty.
Cross-reference: For the city’s disposition of unclaimed property, see NMC 2.35.160 through 2.35.270.
8.05.010 State law adopted by reference.
The provisions of ORS Chapter 819 are adopted by reference and made a part of this code. If there exists any conflict between ORS Chapter 819 and this chapter, then ORS Chapter 819 shall apply. [Code 2001 § 90.01.]
8.05.020 Definitions.
For the purpose of this chapter, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning:
“48-hour notice” means a notice affixed to a vehicle pursuant to NMC 8.05.080.
“Costs” means the expense of removing, storing or selling, including administrative costs of a discarded vehicle.
“Discarded” means any vehicle that (A) does not have lawfully affixed thereto a license plate, has affixed to it an expired license plate, has an obstructed vehicle identification number, or is not registered to the local area; and (B) exhibits one or more of the following conditions:
1. Abandonment, which may be evidenced by various conditions including vegetation growing under the car, filth on the windshield or accumulated under the car;
2. Inoperability, which may be evidenced by various conditions including missing critical elements to operate safely or an inability of the vehicle to move on its own power;
3. Wrecked; or
4. Complete or partial dismantling.
“Officer” means any authorized law enforcement officer of the city and the code compliance officer.
“Person in charge of vehicle” means any agent, occupant, lessee, contract purchaser, owner or person having possession, control or title of property where a vehicle is located. [Ord. 2927 § 2, 9-16-24; Ord. 2508, 4-19-99. Code 2001 § 90.02.]
8.05.030 Declaration of public policy.
The open accumulation and storage of a discarded vehicle is found to create a condition tending to reduce the value of private property, to promote blight, deterioration and unsightliness, 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. The presence of a discarded vehicle on private or public property is declared to constitute a public nuisance. [Ord. 2508, 4-19-99. Code 2001 § 90.03.]
8.05.040 Prohibited action.
It shall be unlawful to store or permit the storing of a discarded vehicle upon any public property within the city. It shall be unlawful to store or permit the storing of a discarded vehicle upon any private property within the city for more than 72 hours, unless the vehicle is completely enclosed within a building, or unless it is in connection with a business enterprise dealing in junked vehicles lawfully conducted within the city. [Ord. 2508, 4-19-99. Code 2001 § 90.04.]
Penalty: See NMC 8.05.090.
8.05.050 Owner’s duty.
If a motor vehicle is discarded on public or private property within the corporate limits of the city, it shall be the duty and responsibility of the owner of such vehicle to immediately cause the removal of it. In the absence of the vehicle owner, the person in charge of the vehicle shall be responsible for the removal. [Ord. 2508, 4-19-99. Code 2001 § 90.05.]
8.05.060 City officer’s duty.
A. A city officer is authorized at all reasonable times to examine any vehicle for the purposes of determining whether the vehicle is discarded.
B. A city officer is granted discretion to determine whether a vehicle is discarded.
C. If the owner or person in possession of private property objects to the city officer entering the private property to examine any vehicle, the city officer shall not enter such property until a warrant is issued by the municipal court allowing such entry. The warrant shall be based upon an affidavit showing probable cause for such inspection by stating the purpose and extent of the proposed inspection, citing this chapter as the basis for such inspection, and whether or not it is an inspection instituted by a complaint or other specific or general information concerning the vehicle in question and the property in which it is situated.
D. The municipal judge shall have the authority after reviewing such affidavit and other evidence presented to issue the warrant specifying the right to enter the property and the extent of inspection of the vehicle in question.
E. It is unlawful and a violation of this chapter for any person to interfere or attempt to prevent the city officer from entering upon private premises and inspecting any vehicle when an emergency exists or the city officer has a warrant authorizing entry. [Ord. 2927 § 3, 9-16-24; Ord. 2508, 4-19-99. Code 2001 § 90.06.]
Penalty: See NMC 8.05.090.
8.05.070 Vehicles treated as discarded.
A vehicle that meets subsection (B) of the definition of “discarded” under NMC 8.05.020, but does not meet subsection (A) of the definition, may be treated as discarded, at the discretion of city officers, if the following conditions occur:
A. The vehicle is located upon any public right-of-way, city street, alley, road, or highway within the city, or on public property for a period exceeding seven days; and
B. The city sends to the vehicle owner, or person in charge of the vehicle, written notice – by first class mail – to the address provided in the vehicle’s registration stating that the vehicle may be held in violation of this chapter if the condition of the vehicle is not corrected within 30 days of the date of the written notice. The notice shall be affixed to the discarded vehicle. [Ord. 2927 § 4, 9-16-24; Ord. 2508, 4-19-99. Code 2001 § 90.07.]
8.05.080 Procedures to be used in taking custody, removing, and disposing of discarded vehicles.
A. A discarded vehicle, or a vehicle that may be treated as discarded in accordance with NMC 8.05.070 or 10.15.030, may be taken into custody, removed, and disposed of after a 48-hour notice is affixed to such vehicle. The owner, or person in charge of a vehicle to which a 48-hour notice has been affixed, must remove such vehicle from public property within 48 hours of when the notice is affixed. Vehicles not removed from public property by the vehicle’s owner or person in charge of the vehicle as required by the 48-hour notice are subject to removal by the city, at the discretion of city officers, as set forth in ORS 819.110.
B. The uniform nuisance abatement procedure (UNAP) may be used for taking custody, removal, and disposal of discarded motor vehicles on private property.
C. Disposal of vehicles taken into custody from private property pursuant to the UNAP may be disposed of in accordance with ORS 819.210 through 819.260.
D. The hearing officer of the city that conducts the hearing in accordance with ORS 819.190 is the chief of police or designee. [Ord. 2927 § 5, 9-16-24; Ord. 2508, 4-19-99. Code 2001 § 90.08.]
8.05.090 Processing of violations and penalty.
Violations of any provisions of this chapter may be processed either by citation as a Class 2 civil infraction, an abatement procedure, or as both. The city, at its option, may initiate action by citation and shall not be prevented from proceeding in civil enforcement action against any person, firm, or corporation violating the provisions of this chapter. [Ord. 2508, 4-19-99. Code 2001 § 90.09.]