[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Busti 6-20-2011 by L.L. No.
3-2011. Amendments noted where applicable.]
This chapter may be cited as the "Junked Vehicles Law" of the
Town of Busti, Chautauqua County, New York.
The Town Board of the Town of Busti adopts this chapter to establish
regulations and procedures for junked, discarded, dismantled or currently
unlicensed motor vehicles on private property within the Town of Busti
so that the public health, safety and welfare of its residents will
not be jeopardized.
A.
It is hereby declared and found that junked, discarded, dismantled
or currently unlicensed motor vehicles on private property within
the Town of Busti affect the public interest and may constitute a
nuisance. Such vehicles are generally unsightly, affecting the aesthetic
quality of the Town, and may depreciate the value of neighboring properties.
Abandoned or junk vehicles may constitute an attractive nuisance to
children and cause their safety to be jeopardized. If left unabated,
such storage may pose a dangerous hazard to the community.
B.
The control of abandoned, junked, discarded and unregistered motor
vehicles on privately owned properties within the Town of Busti is
found to be necessary for the preservation and protection of the health,
safety and general welfare of the community.
The Town Board of the Town of Busti enacts this chapter under
the authority granted by:
B.
New York Statute of Local Governments, § 10(1), (5) and
(7).
C.
New York Municipal Home Rule Law, § 10(1)(i) and (ii)(9-a),
(11), (12) and (14).
D.
New York Town Law, § 130(11) (Peace, good order and safety)
and (15) (Promotion of public welfare).
E.
New York Town Law, § 64(17-a) (Protection of aesthetic
interests) and (23) (General powers).
F.
The decision of the Court of Appeals of New York in Lane v. City
of Mount Vernon, 38 N.Y.2d 344, 379 N.Y.S.2d 798 (1976).
The following definitions shall apply in the interpretation
and enforcement of this chapter:
Any vehicle that is: 1) unregistered and is not in condition
for legal use on a public highway; or 2) unregistered or registered
and is dismantled or partly dismantled and is being held or used for
the purpose of resale, in whole or in part, or for the purpose of
reclaiming some or all of the materials therein for the purpose of
disposing of the same. A motor vehicle shall be presumed to be a junked
vehicle if it is not duly registered and is dismantled or partly dismantled
or dilapidated or is in a rusted or wrecked condition or lacks equipment
in good operating condition necessary to enable it to be operated
or required by law to enable it to be registered. If a motor vehicle
has remained unused for more than six months and is not in a condition
to be moved under its own power, whether registered or unregistered,
that shall be presumptive evidence that such motor vehicle is a junked
motor vehicle.
A machine intended to be propelled by any means other than
human power, designed to travel along the ground by use of wheels,
treads, runners or slides and transport persons or property or pull
machinery and shall include, but not be limited to, an automobile,
bus, truck, tractor, trailer, mobile home, motorcycle or any other
conveyance originally intended for use on public highways.
It shall be unlawful for any person, firm or corporation, either
as owner, occupant, lessee, agent, tenant or otherwise, to place,
park, store or deposit, or cause or permit to be placed, parked, stored
or deposited, a junked motor vehicle upon any private land within
the Town of Busti.
A.
This chapter shall not apply to the storing of any motor vehicle in a wholly enclosed garage or similar structure, when said storage is in compliance with the requirements of the New York State Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code and Chapter 405, Zoning, of the Code of the Town of Busti.
B.
This chapter shall not prohibit a person from keeping one unregistered
motor vehicle on his own property, provided that such unregistered
motor vehicle has not been substantially dismantled or permitted to
deteriorate and permitted to continue in that state for a period of
at least three months, after which time there shall be a presumption
that there is no interest to make the vehicle fit to operate. As used
in this subsection, the term "property" shall include all contiguous
land owned by a single owner in a particular location, regardless
of the actual number of parcels into which it may be divided on the
official Tax Maps.
C.
This chapter shall not apply to duly authorized motor vehicle service stations, nor to properties occupied and used for the repair, reconditioning and remodeling of vehicles in conformance with Chapter 405, Zoning, of the Code of the Town of Busti.
D.
This chapter shall not apply to properties that have been properly licensed to operate as junkyards in conformance with Chapter 270, Junk and Junkyards, of the Town of Busti Code.
E.
This chapter shall not apply to farm equipment located on a parcel
used for a farm operation.
A.
Upon identifying a junked motor vehicle, the Code Enforcement Officer
shall serve written notice, either personally or by mail, on the person
owning the parcel of property on which the junked vehicle is located,
ordering such person to remove the same or cause the same to be removed
therefrom within 15 days of the date of such service. The notice shall
contain a description of the parcel of property, a statement as to
the location thereon of a junked vehicle, and a reference to this
chapter and to the fact that the location of such junked vehicle on
such parcel of property is in violation hereof. If such parcel of
property is owned by more than one person, personal service on any
one of such owners shall suffice; however, as to any owner not personally
served with such notice, or if no owner can be located upon whom to
make personal service, the Code Enforcement Officer shall mail such
notice to owners not personally served or to the owner and/or all
owners if no owner was personally served, by registered or certified
mail to his or their last known address as shown on the latest completed
assessment roll of the Town. In addition, the Code Enforcement Officer
shall post conspicuously a copy of such notice on the parcel of property
upon which said junked motor vehicle is located.
B.
At the expiration of 15 days after the service or mailing and posting of such notice, if the junked motor vehicle has not been removed, the Code Enforcement Officer is authorized to issue an appearance ticket or tickets for a violation or violations of this chapter to recover penalties prescribed by § 386-11 of this chapter.
In addition to any penalty, fine or injunctive relief, as provided in § 386-11 hereof, any junked motor vehicle may be removed from the premises upon which it is located in the following manner:
A.
Upon identifying a junked motor vehicle, the Code Enforcement Officer
shall serve written notice, either personally or by mail, on the person
owning the parcel of property on which the junked vehicle is located,
ordering such person to remove the junked vehicle or cause the same
to be removed within 15 days of the date of such service. The notice
shall contain a description of the parcel of property, a statement
as to the location thereon of a junked vehicle, and a reference to
this chapter and to the fact that the location of such junked vehicle
on such parcel of property is in violation hereof. If such parcel
of property is owned by more than one person, personal service on
any one of such owners shall suffice; however, as to any owner not
personally served with such notice or if no owner can be located upon
whom to make personal service, the enforcement officer shall mail
such notice to owners not personally served or to the owner and/or
all owners if no owner was personally served, by registered or certified
mail to their or his last known address as shown on the latest completed
assessment roll of the Town. In addition, the Code Enforcement Officer
shall post conspicuously a copy of such notice on the parcel of property
upon which said junked motor vehicle is located.
B.
At the expiration of 15 days after the service or mailing and posting
of such notice, if the junked motor vehicle has not been removed,
the enforcement officer shall report such fact to the Town Board in
writing. Such report shall cite the violation, the notices given as
required hereunder, and the failure to comply therewith, and may include
or refer to photographs of such junked vehicle and of the parcel of
property upon which it is located. Such report shall be entered in
the official minutes of the Town Board by the Town Clerk, and any
such photographs shall be filed in the Town Clerk's office.
C.
The Town Board shall thereafter hold a public hearing on 10 days
prior notice published in the official newspaper of the Town and posted
on the signboard of the Town. The purpose of such hearing is to give
the property owner and/or the owner of the junked vehicle an opportunity
to be heard as to why the same has not been removed, for the Town
Board to determine whether the continued presence of such vehicle
constitutes a public nuisance and/or a threat to the health, safety
and general welfare of the community, and also for the Town Board
to receive proposals for the removal of such junked vehicle. Notice
of this hearing shall be served upon the owner(s) of such parcel of
property by certified mail addressed to the address shown on the latest
assessment roll of the Town and to such other address as the Town
Clerk may reasonably believe to give appropriate notice.
D.
After the hearing, if the Town Board has determined that the junked
vehicle must be removed and such removal is not made within 10 days
subsequent to the hearing or within such other time period as the
Board may specify, the Town Board may contract for the removal of
such junked vehicle. The expense of such removal may be assessed on
the real property from which said junked vehicle was removed and shall
constitute a lien and charge upon said real property until paid or
otherwise satisfied or discharged as other Town assessments.
Any junked motor vehicle found to have been abandoned on any
highway or other public place in the Town in violation of § 1224
of the Vehicle and Traffic Law of the State of New York shall be removed
and disposed of in the manner as provided in said § 1224.
The Code Enforcement Officer is authorized as the proper person to
execute all notices and documents required to be given, mailed or
filed with the Department of Motor Vehicles or any person.
A.
Any vehicle owner, property owner, occupant, lessee, agent or tenant
who owns a junked motor vehicle, or who owns property on which there
exists a junked motor vehicle, or who refuses to remove said junked
motor vehicle as directed by this chapter, or who shall fail or refuse
to comply with the provisions of any notice herein provided for, or
who shall resist or obstruct the duly authorized agents, servants,
officers and employees of the Town in the removal thereof shall, upon
conviction thereof, be guilty of a violation punishable by a fine
of up to $100 for each violation or by imprisonment for a term not
exceeding 15 days, or by both such fine and imprisonment. The continuation
of an offense against the provisions of this chapter shall constitute,
for each day the offense is continued after notice, a separate and
distinct offense hereunder.
B.
A violation of this chapter shall also subject the violator to a
civil penalty of $100 for each violation, less any criminal monetary
fine which may have been imposed. Each junked motor vehicle abandoned,
stored, left or located in violation of this chapter shall constitute
a separate violation.
C.
The Town Board of the Town of Busti also may maintain an action or
proceeding in the name of the Town in a court of competent jurisdiction
to compel compliance with or to restrain by injunction the violation
of this chapter.
To the extent that any provisions of this chapter are inconsistent
with the New York State Vehicle and Traffic Law § 1224,
or Civil Practice Law and Rules Article 3, or Criminal Procedure Law
Article 150, the Town Board of the Town of Busti hereby declares its
intent to supersede those sections of the New York State law, pursuant
to its home rule powers under the Municipal Home Rule Law, Article
2, § 10 et seq., of the Consolidated Laws of the State of
New York.
