10-07-1986 Ordinance Amending
.-
~
.
.
(
,
(
\
Hennepin Coun~y, Minn aota
Ordinano # 86-561
AN ORDINANCE AMENDING
Section 1035 Junk Cars, Kacin& Cars and Stock Cars.
Removal and Impound~ng ot Aban~oned or Other Veh~cles
Const~tut~ng a PUblic Nuisances.
Section l03~:OO Definitions. The following words and terms for
the purpose of this Ord~nance are defined as follows:
(1) "Abandoned motor vehicle" means a motor vehicle as defined in
Minnesota Statutes, Section l6~.Ol, that has remained for a perioa
of more than 48 hours on public property illegally or lacking v~tal
component parts, or has remained for a period of more than 48 hours
on private property without consent of the person in control of
such property or in an inoperable cond~tion such that it has no
substantial potential further use consistent w~th ~ts usual
funct~ons unless it is kept in an enclosed garage or storage
build~ng. It shall also mean a motor vehicle voluntarily
surrendered by its owner to and accepted oy the City or ~ts towing
contractor. A classic car or pioneer car, as defined in Minnesota
Statutes, Section l6d.lO, shall not be considered an abandoned
mocor vehicle within the mean~ng of this ordinance.
(2) "Towing contractor" means a person, firm or corporation under
contract awarded by the City under this ord~nance to tow ana
impound veh~cles.
(3) "Veh~cle constituting a publ~c nu~sance" means any motor
ven~cle, whether occupied or not, that is found stopped, stand~ng,
or parkea in v~olation of the ordinances of the City of Hopk~ns or
the laws of the State of Minnesota, or that is reported stolen, or
that is found impeding firefight~ng, snow removal or plowing, or
the orderly flow of traffic.
(4) "Vital component parts" means those parts of a motor vehicle
that are essent~al to the mechan~cal funct~on~ng of the vehicle,
~ncluaing, but not limited to, the motor, drive tra~n, and wheels.
(5) "Junk car" means any motor vehicle which ~s not in operable
cond~t~on, part~ally dismantled, usea for sale of parts or as a
source of repair or replacement parts for other vehicles, kept for
scrapping, dismantl~ng, or salvage of any k~nd, or which ~s not
properly l~censed for operation w~thin the State of M~nnesota.
(6) "Racing
operat~on on
aesigned for
for t~ming of
car" means any motor vehicle designed or ~ntended for
a speedway, race track, or other facil~ty used or
high speed contests between two or more vehicles or
speeo.
(7) "Stock car" means any motor vehicle of standard des~gn and
construct~on wh~ch is modified, adapted or altered in any manner to
~ncrease its speed or intended for operation on a speedway, race
traCk, or otner facil~ty used or des~gned for h~gh speed contests
oeteen two or more vehicles or for t~ming of speed.
(e
.
(
,
US) "Motor vehicle" means a motor vehicle as defined in Minnesota
Statues Sect~on Ib~.Vl.
Section lU35:l0 ParK~n or Stora e for Re or Maintenance of
rlus, Cam er, TrucK, Tractor, Sem~-Trai er, Rac~n or Junk Cars or
other Veh~c es on Pub ic an Pr~vate Property. No person sha
cause or perm~t tne park~ng, keep~ng or storage for more than two
hours of any bus, camper, truck, tractor, semi-trailer, racing or
junk cars or other similar veh~cles for the purpose of repair,
replacement or exchange of parts or any otner maintenance wor~
thereon, in or on any public street, alley, road, h~ghway, park~ng
lot, park or other publ~c property or premises in or on any private
lands or premises unless such veh~cles on any such pr~vate lands be
w~tl:nn an enclosed bu~lding.
Section 1035:12
shall service,
maintain or do
street, avenue,
facility, park or
Service and Repair on Public Place. No person
repa~r, paint, d~smantle, overhaul, or otherwise
work upon any motor vehicle on, or in any publ~c
alley, road, highway, boulevard, park~ng lot or
other publ~c property or premises.
Section 1035:13 Certain Veh~cles Declared a Publ~c Nuisance;
Removal and Impound~ng Thereot. Any veh~cle cons~t~tut~ng a publ~c
nu~sance as aet~ned ~n Sect~on 1035:00 (3) of this Ordinance, and
any stoCK or junk car not kept ~n an enclosea garage or storage
building is hereby deemed and declared to be a public nuisance and
such nuisance may be abated in the manner set forth in this
Urdinance.
Section 1035:14 a Publ~c
Abanaoned be Taken ~nto Custoa
The City otf~cer, ~reman, or
authorized personnel, including the Superintendant of Roads and
Snow Removal, may immediately order any abandoned motor veh~cle or
any veh~cle constituting a public nuisance to be removed and
impounded in the manner here~n prov~ded, and it shall be
surrendered to the duly ~dent~fied owner thereof by the towing
contractor only upon payment of the towing, impounament, storage,
cler~cal ana administrative charges set forth in the current
schedule of Charges and the furnishing of proof of insurance
complying w~th the provisions of M~nnesota Statutes Section 65B.48
as amended.
Section l035:15 Venicles to be Tagged. Any motor vehicle ordered
~mpounded under th~S Orainance shall be immediately tagged for
iaent~ficat~on by the Police Department, wh~cn tag shall snow the
dispos~tion of tne car ordered by sa~d Pol~ce Department, and the
reason for wh~ch impounded. The tag shall be del~vered to the
towing contractor.
Sect~on 1035:16 Report of Police ufficer. Any police officer or
otner autnor~zed person d~rect~ng the impounding of any motor
vehicle shall prepare a written report of the description of such
veh~cle, wh~ch report shall, among other things, include the
-2-
.
.
,
follow~ng: maKe of car; license number; motor number; number of
t~res; tools and other separace art~cles of personal property;
general description of the car with regard to condition, damaged
parts, ana such other informat~on as may be necessary to descr~be
adequately the vehicle and property delivered to the towing
contractor. A copy of sucn report, s~gnea by the off~cer, shall be
Qel~vered to the towing contractor at the time of impounding. The
tow~ng contractor shall receipt for such report, ana shall check
such report, and his signature thereon shall be considered a
rece~pt for the vehicle and property described in said report. the
orig~nal ana one copy of sa~d report, and towing contractor's
receipt shall be f~led in the Pol~ce Department. The Police
Department shall deliver one of sa~d cop~es to the D~rector of
Finance.
Section 1035:l7 Immed~ate Sale of Certain Vehicles. When a
veh~cle constituting a pUbl~c nu~sance or an abandoned motor
veh~cle is more than seven model years of age, is lacking v~tal
component parts, and does not aisplay a license plate currently
val~a ~n Minnesota or any other state or foreign country, it shall
~mmed~ately be eligible for sale at public auction pursuant to
Section 1035:20 of th~s Ord~nance and shall not be subject to the
not~f~cation, reclamat~on, or t~tle provisions of this Ordinance.
Section 1035:18 Notice. When a motor vehicle constituting a
publ~c nu~sance or an abandoned motor veh~cle does not fall within
tne prov~sions of Section 1035:17, the towing contractor shall give
notice of taking within 72 hours. The notice snaIl:
(1) Set forth the date and place of the tak~ng, the year, make,
model and serial number of the vehicle and the place where the
veh~cle ~s being held.
(2) Inform the owner and any read~ly ~dentifiable lienholders of
record of the tow~ng charges then accrued against the vehicle and
shall prov~ae a schedule of storage and other charges to be made by
the towing contractor.
(3) Inform the owner and any readily ~dent~fiable l~ennolder of
record of their right to recla~m tne vehicle under Sect~on lU35:1~.
(4) State tnat failure of the owner or readily identif~able
lienholders of record to exerc~se the~r right to recla~m the
vehicle within fifteen (15) days from the date of the notice shall
be deemed a waiver by them of all right, title, interest in the
v~hicle and a consent to the sale of the ven~cle at a publ~c sale
or auct~on pursuant to Section 1035:20; and that the vehicle w~ll
be sold after the exp~rat~on of such f~fteen (15) day period.
(5) The notice Shall be sent by reg~stered mail to the registered
owner, ~f any, of the veh~cle and to all readily ~dentif~aole
lienholders of record. If ~t is impossiole to determ~ne with
reasonable certa~nty the ident~ty and address of tne reg~stered
owner ana all lienholders, the notice shall be publisned once in a
-3-
(e
.
,
I
\,
newspaper of general circulat~on ~n the area where the motor
vehicle was abananoned. Publisned notices may be grouped together
for convenience and economy.
Section 1035:19 Right to Reclaim.
(I) The owner or any lienholder of a motor vehicle shall nave a
r~ght to reclaim such vehicle irom tne tow~ng contractor upon
pa~nent of the towing, impoundment, storage, clerical and
adm~n~strative fees stated in the current schedule of charges and
the rurn~shing of proof of insurance within fifteen (15) days after
the aate of the not~ce required by Section 1035:1~.
(LJ Nothing ~n tn~s Ordinance shall be construed to impair any
l~en of a, garagekeeper under the laws of this State, or the right
of a l~enholder to foreclose. for the purposes of this section
"garageKeeper" ~s an operator of a parking place or establishment,
an operator of a motor vehicle storage faiclity, or an operator or
an establishment for the servicing, repair, or maintenance of motor
vehicles.
Sect~on 1035:20 Sale of Unclaimed Vehicles.
(1) An abandoned motor vehicle or vehicle constituting a public
nuisance taken into custody and not reclaimed under Section l035:lY
shall be sold to the highest b~dder at public auction or sale,
rollowing reasonable publishea not~ce thereof. The purchaser shall
be g~ven a rece~pt which shall be sufficient title to dispose of
tne vehicle. The receipt shall also entitle the purchaser to
register the vehicle and receive a cert~ficate of title, free and
clear of all liens and claims of ownership.
(2) If, ~n the opinion of the City Manager, the value of an
abanaoned motor vehicle or vehicle constituting a public nuisance
does not justify its sale ~n the manner set forth ~n Section
1035:20 (I), the veh~cle or vehicles shall be summarily sold.
(3) All motor vehicles taken ~nto custody and not recla~med shall
De sold within a reasonable time, wh~ch shall not exceed the period
of time in which the sum of all towing and storage charges, plus
notice and publication costs, would equal the value of the veh~cle.
The towing contractor shall adv~se the City Manager of his designee
or the est~mated market value of each venicle when taKen into
custody and of the estimated date by which charges against the
vehicle will equal its value.
t4) From the proceeds of the sale of any veh~cle constituting a
publ~c nu~sance or an abandoned motor vehicle, the tow~ng
contractor shall receive the cost of tow~ng, preserving and stor~ng
the veh~cle as stated in the Towing Contract. The C~ty shall
reimburse itself for all not~ce and publication costs ~ncurred
pursuant to this Ordinance ana all clerical and administrative
expenses stated in the Towing Contract. Any remainder from the
proceeds of a sale shall be held for the owner of the vehicle or
-4-
. . .
(.
.
(
,
entitled lienholaer for ninety (YO) days and then shall be
depos~ted in the General rund of the City treasury.
Sect~on 1035:21
Requ~rements.
Designation of City Towing Contractor; Contract
(1) Bids for Tow~ng Contractors. The City Manager shall advertise
for b~ds by persons, tirms, or corporations des~ring to act as
tow~ng contractor tor veh~cles impounded under th~s Ord~nance and
the C~ty Counc~l may by motion or resolut~on accept the b~d of one
or more l~censed bidders as official towing contractors of the
City.
(2) Contracts. Contracts shall be entered ~nto in wr~ting for a
per~oa noc exceeding three years. SUCh Towing Contract shall
~nclude provis~ons settlng forth the fees to be pa~d and the
services to be rendered by the towing contractor, bonding and
~nsurance requ~rements as determ~ned by the City Manager, and a
schedule of towing, impoundment, storage, clerical and
aaill~n~strative charges.
(3) Schedule of Charges. A schedule of the towing, impoundment,
storage, cler~cal and administrative charges as set forth in the
Tow~ng Contract shall be prepared by the City Clerk and a copy
thereof shall be posted by the towing contractor in a conspicuous
place at h~s place of business, a second copy thereof shall be
posted in the off~ce of the Hopkins Police Department and a third
copy shall be kept by the City Clerk for pUblic inspection. Such
scnedule of charges is herebY declared to be a part of this
Urd~nance as fully and to the same effect as if set forth here~n
veroat~m.
(4) Pron~b~ted Activity. The towing contractor snaIl not solicit,
d~rectly or ~nd~rectly, the impounding or towing of cars under th~s
chapter.
First read at the regular meeting of the Hopkins City
Council on October 7, 1986 and finally read and ordered
published on October 21, 1986.
....., .',
,
,
'"
... ~ ~ ~ .
_ _ 4 _
--- ...=-......- _-:. ---:-:--.....-:;
--- :- :$.....- -- ----- ..:...--::-- .:...~~---:--- -
J. Scott Renne, City Clerk
Ellen Lavin, Mayor
Co
-5-