Granite Shoals |
Code of Ordinances |
Part II. Code Of Ordinances |
Chapter 24. Offenses And Miscellaneous Provisions |
Article III. Junked And Abandoned Vehicles |
§ 24-72. Regulation of abandoned vehicles
(a) Authority to impound abandoned motor vehicle.
(1) The police department may impound an abandoned vehicle found on public or private property.
(2) The police department may use its own personnel, equipment and facilities or contract for other personnel, equipment, and facilities for the purpose of removing, preserving, and storing abandoned vehicles impounded by the police department.
(3) At least 48 hours prior to impounding any abandoned vehicle, a police officer shall securely affix a visible, dated notice of abandonment to such vehicle. A record of the date and time such notice was affixed shall be maintained by the police department and shall be prima facie proof in any court that (a) such vehicle was left unattended and abandoned for the period of time between the affixing of the notice and the impounding of the item and (b) that the owner of the vehicle caused, allowed, suffered and permitted the motor vehicle to remain at the place where the vehicle was impounded for the period of time between the affixing of the notice and the impoundment of the motor vehicle.
(b) Offense. It shall be unlawful for any person to knowingly or intentionally interfere with or attempt to prevent the physical impounding of any abandoned vehicle by the police department or its delegate pursuant to the provisions of V.T.C.A., Texas Transportation Code ch. 683 and this article.
(c) Notice.
(1) Not later than the 10 day after the police department impounds an abandoned vehicle, or receives a report under subsection (f) of this section that such vehicle is left in a storage facility operated for commercial purposes, it shall notify by certified mail:
a. The last known registered owner of each vehicle impounded; and
b. Each lienholder recorded under V.T.C.A., Texas Transportation Code ch. 501, for a motor vehicle or under V.T.C.A. Parks and Wildlife Code ch. 31, for a watercraft or outboard motor.
(2) The notice shall:
a. Specify the year, make, model, and identification number of the abandoned vehicle;
b. Set forth the location of the facility where the vehicle is being held;
c. Inform the owner and any lien holders of their right to reclaim the vehicle not later than the 20 day after the date of the notice upon payment of all towing, reservation, and storage charges resulting from impounding the vehicle, or garagekeeper's charges and fees;
d. State that the failure of the owner or lien holders to exercise their right to reclaim the vehicle within the time provided constitutes:
1. A waiver by the owner and lien holders of all right, title, and interest in the vehicle; and
2. Consent to the sale of the vehicle at a public auction.
(3) Notice by publication in a newspaper of general circulation in the city within the time period and containing all the information required by this subsection (c) is sufficient notice under this chapter if:
a. The identity of the last registered owner cannot be determined;
b. The registration contains no address for the owner; or
c. It is impossible to determine with reasonable certainty the identity and address of all lien holders.
(4) Notice by publication may contain multiple listings of abandoned vehicles.
(5) The police department is not required to send a notice if the police department has received notice from a vehicle storage facility that an application has or will be submitted to the department for the disposal of the vehicle.
(6) In addition to the notice required under subsection (c)(1) of this section, if the police department impounds an abandoned vehicle, the agency shall notify a person that files a theft report or similar report prepared by any law enforcement agency for the vehicle of that fact. The notice must be sent by regular mail on the next business day after the police department impounds the vehicle. The police department shall also provide the name and address of the person that filed the theft report to the vehicle storage facility or governmental vehicle storage facility that is storing the vehicle.
(d) Storage fees. If the police department or an agent of the police department impounds an abandoned vehicle, it is entitled to reasonable storage fees for:
(1) A period of not more than ten days, beginning on the day the item is impounded and ending on the day the required notice is mailed; and
(2) A period beginning on the day after the day the department mailed notice and continuing through the day any accrued charges are paid and the vehicle is removed.
(e) Auction, use or transfer of abandoned motor vehicles.
(1) If an abandoned vehicle has not been claimed within 20 days after the date of notice and payment of all towing, preservation and storage charges resulting from its impoundment, the police department may:
a. Sell the item at a public auction;
b. Use such item for any police department purpose; provided that in the event that the police department shall subsequently cease using the item, the item will be sold at public auction in conformance with the provisions of subsection (1)a.
c. Transfer the vehicle to any other municipal or county agency, a groundwater conservation district governed by V.T.C.A. Water Code ch. 36, or a school district for the use of that agency or district;
d. Transfer the vehicle, if a watercraft, to the parks and wildlife department pursuant to V.T.C.A. Texas Transportation Code § 683.014(d).
(2) Proper notice of the public auction shall be given; and in the event the abandoned vehicle is to be sold in satisfaction of a garagekeeper's lien, the garagekeeper shall be notified of the time and place of such auction. Notice given in accordance with the requirements of this article or the giving of notice of the sale of other types of abandoned property, shall be sufficient to comply with the requirements of this section.
(3) The purchaser of the abandoned vehicle shall take title to the vehicle free and clear of all liens and claims of ownership, shall receive a sales receipt from the police department and is entitled to register the purchased vehicle and receive a certificate of title.
(4) From the proceeds of the sale of an abandoned vehicle, the police department shall be entitled to reimbursement for the expenses of the auction, the cost of towing, preserving, and storing the vehicle that resulted from impounding the abandoned vehicle, and all notice and publication costs incurred pursuant to subsection (c). Any remainder from the proceeds of a sale shall be held for the owner of the vehicle or entitled lien holder for 90 days and then shall be deposited in a special fund that shall remain available for the payment of auction, towing, preserving, storage and all notice and publication costs that result from impounding another abandoned vehicle, if the proceeds from a sale of another abandoned vehicle are insufficient to meet these expenses and costs. The city may transfer the amount in the special fund exceeding $1,000.00 from the special fund to the city's general revenue account to be used by the police department.
(f) Garagekeepers and abandoned motor vehicles.
(1) A motor vehicle left with a garagekeeper in a storage facility operated for commercial purposes shall be deemed abandoned under the conditions of V.T.C.A., Texas Transportation Code § 683.031.
(2) The police department, upon receiving a report from a garagekeeper of possession of a vehicle considered abandoned under the provisions of V.T.C.A., Texas Transportation Code § 683.031, shall follow the notification procedures provided by subsection (c) of this section and custody of the vehicle shall remain with the garagekeeper until after the notification requirements are satisfied. A fee of $10.00 shall accompany the report of the garagekeeper to the police department and such fee shall be retained by the police department to defray the costs of notification and costs incurred in the disposition of the abandoned motor vehicle.
(3) Abandoned vehicles left in storage facilities, which are not reclaimed after notice given in accordance with this article, shall be impounded by the police department and used for department purposes or sold at auction as set forth in subsection (e) of this section. If the vehicle is sold, the proceeds of the sale shall first be applied to the garagekeeper's charges for servicing storage and repair; provided, however, that the police department, or the city's designated law enforcement agency, shall retain an amount of two percent of the gross proceeds of the sale for each vehicle auctioned, but in no event shall it retain less than $10.00, to be used to defray expenses of the impoundment and auction. Any surplus proceeds shall be distributed as provided in subsection (e) of this section.
(Ord. No. 605, § V, 5-14-2013)