Nuisance ordinance gets teeth

Town ordinances in Stoneville have long held regulations concerning abandoned, nuisance and junked motor vehicles. The town council voted on Dec. 6, 2011, to update those provisions in the town code to make them easier to enforce.

“In other words, the ordinance was on the books, but had no muscle or consequences to it,” Town Administrator Shirley Price said. “The basic change was to start enforcing it and who would do the enforcing.”

According to section 11-26 of Stoneville’s general provisions, the town’s police department will be responsible for the administration and enforcement of the regulations concerning abandoned, nuisance and junked motor vehicles.

An abandoned vehicle is defined as one that is: left illegally parked on a public street or highway; left legally parked on a public street or highway for longer than seven days; left on property owned or operated by the town for longer than 24 hours; or left on private property without consent of the owner for longer than two hours.

A nuisance vehicle is defined as one that is determined to be: a health hazard – such as a breeding ground for insects or pests, a point of heavy growth of weeds more than 8 inches in height, a point of collection for pools of water; a safety hazard – such as a point of collection for gasoline or other flammable or explosive materials, an area of confinement which cannot be operated from inside, a point of collection for garbage or other waste, one that has sharp parts or edges, or one that is danger of falling or turning over; or otherwise declared to be a public nuisance by the town council.

A junked vehicle is defined as one that does not display a current license plate and is: partially dismantled or wrecked; cannot be self-propelled or moved in the manner originally intended; or is more than five years old and appears to be worth less than $100. One junked vehicle can be located in the rear yard of a property, providing it is “entirely concealed from public view” by acceptable covering. The police department has the authority to determine if the vehicle is properly concealed. Any other junked vehicles must be kept in a garage or other complete enclosure.

The ordinance allows the town’s police chief to determine if a vehicle falls within one of the definitions and to order the removal of the vehicle. When possible, the name and mailing address of the vehicle’s registered owner will be found and a notice of violation and removal of the vehicle will be sent by first-class mail. When ownership information is not available, a notice will be affixed to the vehicle stating the date the vehicle will be removed by the town. Abandoned, junked or nuisance vehicles will not be removed by the town sooner than seven days from the date a notice is affixed or mailed.

An owner may appeal a notice of violation and removal to the town council in writing, and the appeal will be heard at the next regularly scheduled council meeting. Further proceedings to remove the vehicle will be halted until the appeal is heard and decided.

Vehicles abandoned on public streets can be removed immediately if they are: obstructing traffic; parked in violation of restricted parking; parked in a no stopping or standing zone; parked in a loading zone; parked in a bus zone; or parked in violation of temporarily imposed parking restrictions.

The full updated ordinance pertaining to abandoned, nuisance and junked motor vehicles is available for study at Stoneville Town Hall.