[HISTORY: Adopted by the Village Board of the Village of
East Troy 4-3-2000 by Ord. No. 2000-2 as Title 10, Ch. 5, of the 2000
Code. Amendments noted where applicable.]
The provisions of §§ 342.40 and 175.25, Wis.
Stats., and the definitions therein, are adopted by reference.
For the purposes of this chapter, a junked, stored, or abandoned
vehicle means any self-propelled land vehicle which can be used for
towing or transporting people or materials, or parts thereof, including
but not limited to automobiles, trucks, buses, motorized campers,
motorcycles, motor scooters, mopeds, tractors, snowmobiles and trailers
of all types, in a disassembled, dismantled, junked, wrecked or inoperable
condition, on any real estate located within the corporate limits
of the Village, except upon a permit issued by the Village Board.
No person, firm, partnership or corporation shall leave unattended
any junked, stored or abandoned vehicle for such time and under such
circumstances as to cause the vehicle to reasonably appear to have
been abandoned. No person shall store any such junked or abandoned
vehicle on public or private property within the Village of East Troy
for longer than 10 days without making application to the Village
Board for a permit herein described. A motor vehicle shall not be
considered an abandoned motor vehicle when it is out of ordinary public
view or when designated as not abandoned by a duly authorized municipal
official or when designated as not abandoned pursuant to a permit
issued hereunder.
A.
Police
duty. Whenever any Village law enforcement officer shall find any
such vehicle placed or stored in the open upon private property, public
property or a public highway in the Village of East Troy, he/she shall
notify the owner of such vehicle and/or the owner of the property
upon which such vehicle is placed or stored of the intention of the
Village to remove such vehicle. If any such vehicle is not removed
within five days after such notice, the Chief of Police shall cause
such vehicle to be removed, the cost of such removal to be charged
to the property from which it is removed and such charges to be entered
upon the tax roll as a special assessment. Upon removal, such vehicle
shall be stored in a suitable place for at least 14 days after the
owner thereof receives notice of such storage, if the name and whereabouts
of the owner can be readily ascertained.[1]
B.
Exception. Any vehicle in violation of this chapter shall be impounded by the Chief of Police of the Village until lawfully claimed or disposed of under § 461-6A or B, except that if the Chief of Police or any member of the Police Department authorized by the Chief of Police determines that the cost of towing and storage charges for the impoundment would exceed the value of the vehicle, the vehicle may be junked or sold by the Chief of Police prior to expiration of the impoundment upon his/her determination that the vehicle is not wanted for evidence or other reason. All substantially complete vehicles in excess of 19 models years of age shall be disposed of in accordance with § 461-6A.
The owner of any abandoned, junked or stored motor vehicle for
which no permit has been issued by the Village Board, except a stolen
vehicle, is responsible for all costs of impounding and disposing
of the vehicle. Costs not recovered from the sale of the vehicle may
be recovered in a civil action by the Village against the owner.
A.
Value in
excess of $100. Any abandoned, junked or stored motor vehicle for
which no permit has been issued by the Village Board and which is
determined by the Chief of Police or any duly authorized member of
the Village Police Department to have a value in excess of $100 shall
be retained in storage for a period of 14 days after certified mail
notice has been sent to the owner and lienholders of record, to permit
reclamation of the vehicle after payment of accrued charges. Such
notice shall set forth the year, make, model and serial number of
such abandoned, junked or stored motor vehicle and the place where
the vehicle is being held and shall inform the owner and any lienholders
of their right to reclaim the vehicle. The notice shall state that
failure of the owner or lienholders to exercise their rights to reclaim
the vehicle under this subsection shall be deemed a waiver of all
right, title and interest in the vehicle and a consent to the sale
of the vehicle. Each retained vehicle not reclaimed by its owner or
lienholder may be sold. The Village may dispose of the vehicle by
sealed bid or auction sale. At such sale, the highest bid for any
such motor vehicle shall be accepted unless the same is deemed inadequate
by the Chief of Police, in which event all bids may be rejected. If
all bids are rejected, or no bid is received, the Village may either
readvertise the sale, adjourn the sale to a definite date, sell the
motor vehicle at a private sale, or junk the vehicle. Any interested
person may offer bids on each abandoned vehicle to be sold. A Class
1 notice, pursuant to the provisions of Ch. 985, Wis. Stats., shall
be published in the official newspaper of the Village prior to any
such sale and shall be in the same form as the certified mail notice
sent to the owner or lienholder of record. Upon sale of an abandoned
vehicle, the Village shall supply the purchaser with a complete form
designed by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation enabling the
purchaser to obtain a regular certificate of title for the vehicle.
The purchaser shall have 10 days to remove the vehicle from the storage
area but shall pay a reasonable storage fee established by the municipality
or county for each day the vehicle remains in storage after the second
business day subsequent to the sale date. Ten days after the sale,
the purchaser shall forfeit all interest in the vehicle and the vehicle
shall be deemed to be abandoned and may be sold again. Any listing
of vehicles to be sold by the Village shall be made available to any
interested person or organization who or which makes a written request
for such list. The Village may charge a fee for the list.
B.
Value less
than $100. Any abandoned vehicle which is determined by the Chief
of Police or his/her duly authorized deputy to have a value of less
than $100 may be disposed of by direct sale to a licensed salvage
dealer upon determination that the vehicle is not reported stolen.
A.
Any person,
firm, partnership or corporation desiring a permit to maintain an
abandoned, junked or stored motor vehicle or parts thereof, as herein
defined, shall apply for a permit if such motor vehicle or parts thereof
will remain on public or private property for longer than 10 days.
The permit application shall be on forms provided by the Village Clerk's
office, shall be accompanied by a nonrefundable application fee set
by the Village Board, and shall be returned to the Village Clerk for
consideration by the Village Board at the next regularly scheduled
meeting. Any such permit issued by the Village Board shall specify
the quantity and manner of storing such motor vehicles or parts thereof
and shall be signed by the Village President and Village Clerk.
[Amended 6-15-2015 by Ord. No. 2015-02; 12-16-2019 by Ord. No. 2019-18]
B.
Any such
permit issued hereunder shall be revocable at any time by the Village
Board after a hearing before such Board at which it has been found
that the permit holder has failed or refused to comply with this chapter
or any restrictions contained in such permit. Such hearing may be
held by the Village Board on its own motion or upon the complaint,
in writing, duly signed and certified by the complainant. Such complaint
or motion shall state the nature of the alleged failure to comply
with such ordinance or permit restrictions. A copy of the complaint
or motion together with a notice of the hearing shall be served upon
the permit holder not less than 10 days previous to the date of hearing.
