HomeMy Public PortalAboutOrdinance 5451
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ORDINANCE NO. 545
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF BEAUMONT, CALIFORNIA
PROVIDING FOR THE ABATEMENT AND REMOVAL AS PUBLIC
NUISANCES OF ABANDONED, WRECKED, DISMANTLED OR
INOPERATIVE VEHICLES FROM PRIVATE PROPERTY OR
PUBLIC PROPERTY
THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BEAUMONT, CALIFORNIA DO
ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1: In addition to and in accordance with the deter-
mination made and the authority granted by the State of California
under §22660 of the Vehicle Code to remove abandoned, wrecked,
dismantled or inoperative vehicles or parts thereof as public
nuisances, the City Council of the City of Beaumont hereby makes
the following findings and declarations:
The accumulation and storage of abandoned, wrecked, dismantl
or inoperative vehicles or parts thereof on private or public pro-
perty, not including highways, is hereby found to create a conditio
tending to reduce the value of private property, to promote blight
and deterioration, 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.
Therefore, the presence of abandoned, wrecked, dismantled or inop-
erative vehicle, or part thereof, on private or public property,
not including highways, except as expressly hereinafter permitted,
is hereby declared to constitute a public nuisance which may be
abated as such in accordance with the provision of this ordinance.
As used in this ordinance:
(a) The term "vehicle" means a device by which a person
or property may be propelled, moved or drawn upon a highway except
in a device moved by human power or used exclusively upon stationary
rails or tracks.
(b) The term "highway" means a way or place of whatever
nature, publicly maintained and open to the use of the public for
purposes of vehicular travel. Highway includes street.
(c) The term "public property" does not include highway.
SECTION 2: This ordinance shall not apply to:
(a) A vehicle or part thereof which is completely en-
closed within a building in a lawful manner where it is not visible
from the street or public or private property; or
(b) A vehicle or part thereof which is stored or parked
in a lawful manner on private property in connection with the busi-
ness of a licensed dismantler, licensed vehicle dealer, a junk
dealer, or when such storage or parking is necessary to the opera-
tion of a lawfully conducted business or commercial enterprise.
Nothing in this section shall authorize the maintenance of
a public or private nuisance as defined under provisions of law
other than Chapter 10 (commencing with §22650 of Division 11 of the
Vehicle Ccde and this ordinance.
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SECTION 3: This ordinance is not the exclusive regulation
of abandoned, wrecked, dismantled or inoperative vehicles within
the City limits of the City of Beaumont. It shall supplement and
be in addition to the other regulatory codes, statutes and ordin-
ances heretofore or hereafter enacted by the City, the State, or
any other legal entity or agency having jurisdiction.
SECTION 4: Except as otherwise provided herein, the provi-
sions of this ordinance shall be administered and enforced by the
License Control Officer or such other officer as the City Manager
may designate. In the enforcement of this ordinance said officer
and his subordinates, or other City employees, may enter upon
private or public property to examine a vehicle or parts thereof,
or obtain information as to the identity of a vehicle, and to
remove or cause the removal of a vehicle or part thereof declared
to be a nuisance pursuant to this ordinance.
SECTION 5: When the City Council or appropriate officer of
the City of Beaumont has contracted with or granted a franchise to
any person or persons, such person or persons shall be authorized
to enter upon private property or public property to remove or
cause the removal of a vehicle or parts thereof declared to be a
nuisance pursuant to this ordinance.
SECTION 6: The City Council shall from time to time determine
and fix an amount to be assessed as administrative costs excluding
the actual cost of removal of any vehicle or part thereof under
this ordinance.
SECTION 7: A public hearing shall be held on the question
of abatement and removal of the vehicle or part thereof as an
abandoned, wrecked, dismantled or inoperative vehicle and the
assessment of the administrative costs and the cost of removal of
the vehicle or part thereof against the property on which it is
located. Notice of Hearing shall be mailed at least ten days
before the hearing by certified mail, with a five day return re-
quested, to the owner of the land as shown on the last equalized
or County assessment roll and to the last registered and legal
owner of record unless the vehicle is in such condition that
identification numbers are not available to determine ownership.
If any of the foregoing notices is returned undelivered by the
United States Post Office, the hearing shall be continued to a date
not less than ten days from the date of such return.
SECTION 8: Notice of hearing shall also be given to the
California Highway Patrol identifying the vehicle or part thereof
proposed for removal, such notice to be mailed at least ten days
prior to the public hearing.
SECTION 9: All hearings under this ordinance shall be held
before the License Control Officer or his designated subordinate as
hearing officer, who shall hear all the facts and testimony he deem
pertinent. Said facts and testimony may include evidence on the
condition of the vehicle or part thereof and the circumstances con-
cerning its location on the said private property or public propert
The hearing officer shall not be limited by the technical rules of
evidence. The owner of the land on which the vehicle is located
may appear in person at the hearing or present a written statement
in time for consideration at the hearing, and deny responsibility
for the presence of the vehicle on the land, with his reasons for
such denial.
The hearing officer may impose such conditions and take such
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other action as he deems appropriate under the circumstances to
carry out the purpose of this ordinance. He may delay the time for
removal of the vehicle or part thereof if, in his opinion, the
circumstances justify it. At the conclusion of the public hearing,
the hearing officer may find that a vehicle or part thereof has
been abandoned, wrecked, dismantled, or is inoperative on private
or public property and order the same removed from the property
as a public nuisance and disposed of as hereinafter provided and
determine the administrative costs and the cost of removal to be
charged against the owner of the parcel of land on which the vehicl
or part thereof is located. The order requiring removal shall
include a description of the vehicle or part thereof and the correc
identification number of the vehicle, if available at the site. If
it is determined at the hearing that the vehicle was placed on the
land without the consent of the land owner and that he has not sub-
sequently acquiesced in its presence, the hearing officer shall
not assess costs of administration or removal of the vehicle again.s
the property upon which the vehicle is located or otherwise attempt
to collect such costs from such land owner.
If an interested party makes a written presentation to the
hearing officer but does not appear, he shall be notified in
writing of the decision.
SECTION 10: Any interested party may appeal the decision of
the hearing officer by filing a written notice of appeal with the
said hearing officer within five days after his decision. Such
appeal shall be heard by the City Council which may affirm, amend
or reverse the order or take other action deemed appropriate.
The City Clerk shall give written notice of the time and
place of the hearing to the appellant and those persons specified
in Section 7.
In conducting the hearing, the City Council shall not be
limited by the technical rules of evidence.
SECTION 11: Five days after adoption of the order declaring
the vehicle or parts thereof to be a public nuisance, five days
from the date of mailing of notice of the decision if such notice
is required by Section 9, or fifteen days after such action of the
governing body authorizing removal following appeal, the vehicle
or parts thereof may be disposed of by removal to a scrapyard or
automobile dismantler's yard. If such commercial channels are not
available or are inadequate, the vehicle may be disposed of at any
public disposal area which will accept same. After a vehicle has
been removed, it shall not thereafter be reconstructed or made
operable.
SECTION 12: Within five days after the date of removal of
the vehicle or parts thereof, notice shall be given to the Depart-
ment of Motor Vehicles identifying the vehicle or parts thereof
removed. At the same time there shall be transmitted to the
Department of Motor Vehicles any evidence of registration available
including registration certificates, certificates of title and
license plates.
SECTION 13: If the administrative costs and the costs of
removal which are charged against the owner of a parcel of land
pursuant to Section 9 are not paid within thirty days of the date
of the order, or the final disposition of an appeal therefrom,
such costs shall be assessed against the parcel of land pursuant to
§25845 of the Government Code and shall be transmitted to the tax
collector for collection. Said assessment shall have the same
priority as other County taxes.
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SECTION 14: It shall be unlawful for any person to abandon,
park, store or leave or permit the abandonment, parking storing or
leaving of any licensed or unlicensed vehicle or parts thereof
which is in an abandoned, wrecked, dismantled or inoperative con-
dition upon any private property or public property not including
highways within the City of Beaumont for a period in excess of ten
days unless such vehicle or part thereof is completely enclosed
within a building in a lawful manner where it is not plainly visibl
from the street or other public or private property, or unless such
vehicle is stored or parked in a lawful manner on private property
in connection with the business of a licensed dismantler, licensed
vehicle dealer or a junkyard. A violation of this section shall be
a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of not more than $500.00 or by
imprisonment in the County jail for not more than six months, or by
both such fine and imprisonment.
SECTION 15: This ordinance shall take effect thirty days
after its adoption.
PASSED, APPROVED AND ADOPTED UPON SECOND READING this 12th
day of April , 1982, upon the following roll call vote:
AYES: Councilmen May, Shaw, Hammel and Lowry.
NOES: Mayor Thompson.
ABSENT: None.
ABSTAIN: None.
ATTEST:
CITY R 12�IM-
OR OF THE CITY OF BEA MONT
CERTIFICATION
The foregoing is certified to be a true copy of Ordinance
No. 545 duly adopted by the said City Council of the City of
Beaumont on the date herein set forth.
CITY CLERK, CITY OF BEAUMONT
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