1990-4

Ordinance 1990-4

An ordinance providing for the definition of junk car or abandoned car and providing for notification and removal of junk cars or abandoned cars from public and private property.

Be It Resolved by the Town Council of the Town of Millersburg:

Section 1. That for the purpose of this ordinance, a junk car shall mean any motor vehicle or the remains thereof which does not bear a current valid license plate, and is not housed in a garage or other building or secured on a trailer that bears a currently valid license plate.

Section 2. That for the purpose of this ordinance, abandoned car shall mean:

(a) A vehicle located on the streets or other public property illegally;

(b) A vehicle left on the streets or other public property continuously without being moved for three (3) days;

(c) A vehicle located on private property in such a manner as to constitute a hazard or obstruction to the movement of pedestrians or vehicle traffic on a public right-of-way;

(d) A vehicle that has remained on private property without the consent of the owner, or person in control, of that property, for more than forty-eight (48) hours;

(e) A vehicle from which there has been removed the engine, transmission, or differential or that is otherwise dismantled or inoperable and left on public property;

(f) A vehicle that has been removed by a towing service or a public agency upon request of the town marshal or deputy marshal enforcing a statute or ordinance other than I.C. 9-9-1-1 or this ordinance, if the vehicle once impounded is not claimed or redeemed by the owner or his agent within fifteen (15) days of its removal; or

(g) A vehicle that is six (6) or more model years old and mechanically non-operable, and is left on private property continuously in a location visible from public property for more than thirty (30) days.

Section 3. Junk cars as defined in Section 1 and abandoned cars as defined in Section 2(e) and (g) are hereby declared to be nuisances except in lawfully operated junkyards or automobile scrap yards.

Section 4. The town marshal or deputy marshal may order a vehicle constituting a nuisance as defined in Section 3 removed to a lawfully operated junkyard at owner’s expense, if reclaimed within fifteen (15) days, or at the town’s expense if sold or disposed of.

Section 5. If, in the opinion of the town marshal or deputy marshal, the junk car or abandoned car has a value of less than One Hundred Dollars ($100.00), he shall immediately dispose of the vehicle to an automobile scrap yard. If the value of the junk car or abandoned car is more than One Hundred Dollars ($100.00), the town marshal or his deputy, within seventy two (72) hours, shall notify the Bureau of Motor Vehicles by delivering an abandoned vehicle report. If the owner or any lien holder does not reclaim the vehicle within fifteen (15) days after the date of mailing, and the Bureau does not dispose of the vehicle pursuant to I.C. 9-9-1.1-6, the Town shall sell the vehicle or the parts thereof to the highest bidder at a public sale after one week’s notice published in a newspaper of general circulation in the County. The proceeds of the sale shall be used to defray the expenses of sale and the balance, if any, paid to the owner, if known, or deposited in the junk car fund or training fund maintained by the Town.

Section 6. This ordinance shall be effective after publication as required by law.

Adopted this 6^th day of June, 1990