The parking, keeping, or storing of inoperable or wrecked motor vehicles, or any parts thereof, at any other location, or unauthorized area thereon, in the City is declared to be a nuisance and may be cited for violation of subsection 3.2.8
8.3.2 Inoperable or junk vehicles, and any parts thereof. The accumulation of inoperable or junk vehicles in the City is degrading to the environment, property values, and the aesthetic beauty of the City. Thus, the parking, keeping, or storing of inoperable or junk vehicles, or any parts thereof, at any location in the City not permitted by this subsection is declared to be a nuisance and may be cited for violation of subsection 3.2.8 and, if necessary, abated as provided in subsections 8.3.2.1 through 8.3.2.4 below.
8.3.2.1 Prohibition.
(A) It shall be unlawful for any person to place, or cause to be placed, any inoperable vehicle, any junk vehicle, or any part thereof, upon any private property except in an approved storage area on property that is properly zoned and permitted for that purpose.
(B) The location or presence of any inoperable or junked vehicle on any lot, tract, parcel of land or portion thereof, occupied or unoccupied, improved or unimproved, except as excluded in subsection (A) of this subsection 8.2.3.1 above shall be deemed a public nuisance and it shall be unlawful for any person or persons to cause or maintain such public nuisance by wrecking, dismantling, rendering inoperable, abandoning or discarding a vehicle or vehicles on the property of another or to suffer, permit or allow the same to be placed, located, maintained or exist upon his or her own real property.
(C) This section shall not apply to:
(i) A vehicle or part thereof which is completely enclosed within a building or fence in a lawful manner where it is not visible from the street or other public or private property;
(ii) Any motor vehicle which can be started and moved under its own power;
(iii) Any motor vehicle which is being expeditiously repaired; and
(iv) Any automobile that is considered a historic or special interest vehicle as defined by Ark. Code Ann. § 27-15-2201 and is stored pursuant the regulation set forth in Ark. Code Ann. § 27-15-2207.
8.2.3.2 Violations; notice and opportunity for hearing.
(A) When the city believes that a vehicle is being maintained in violation of this Subsection 8.3.2, a Code Enforcement Officer may give the private property owner and the owner of the motor vehicle, if ascertainable, 30 days’ notice that the vehicle shall be towed at the owner’s expense unless the vehicle is restored to a functional use, disposed of by the owner in a manner not prohibited by this Chapter, or placed in an enclosed building. Notice shall be sent by regular mail and by certified mail, return receipt requested. Notice to the real property owner is sufficient if sent to the owner’s address of record on file with the county treasurer, county collector, or county assessor. Notice to the owner of the vehicle is sufficient if sent to the owner’s address of record on file with the Arkansas Office of Motor Vehicles or motor vehicle records of any other state where the vehicle’s registration indicates the name and address of the last registered owner of the vehicle.
(B) The notice shall contain a description of the inoperable vehicle, the license number of the inoperable vehicle (if known) and the address where the inoperable vehicle is being improperly stored.
(C) The notice shall inform the recipient that he or she may request a hearing within 20 days of the date of the letter in front of the Board of Adjustment to determine if there is a violation.
(D) The notice shall include the name, address, phone number and email address that the recipient may contact to set up the hearing.
(E) The notice shall contain a copy of this subsection.
8.2.3.3 Hearing and post-hearing.
(A) The Board of Adjustment shall conduct all hearings pertaining to inoperable vehicles or junk vehicles. At the hearing before the Board of Adjustment, the recipients of the notice shall be provided with a copy of this subsection and be presented with the basis of the belief that the vehicle is being maintained in violation of this subsection.
(B) At the hearing, the recipients of the notice shall be given an opportunity to prove that the vehicle in question is not being maintained in violation of this section, or is being expeditiously repaired.
(C) The Board of Adjustment shall inform the parties present of its decision at the conclusion of the hearing.
(D) Within three days of the hearing, a Code Enforcement Officer shall send to the private property owner and the owner of the motor vehicle a written notice informing them of the outcome of the hearing and the opportunity to appeal the decision to the appropriate state circuit court, including the address and phone number of the court.
(E) The post-hearing notice shall inform the recipients that the inoperable vehicle in question will be towed at their expense within ten days of the date of the hearing, or the expiration of the original 30 days’ notice, whichever is longer.
8.2.3.4 Removal of inoperable or junk vehicles.
(A) At the conclusion of the post-hearing notice period (as provided for in Section 8.2.3.3 above), Code Enforcement shall provide a copy of the post-hearing notice and shall instruct and authorize the North Little Rock Police Department to have the inoperable or junk vehicle towed in compliance with the provisions of Arkansas law and the police department’s policy establishing procedures for impounding and towing vehicles adopted pursuant to Ark. Code Ann. § 27-50-1207.
(B) This authorization shall not be given if the violation of this section has been corrected and the vehicle has been removed, or is no long inoperable, or has been
completely enclosed within a building or fence in a lawful manner where it is not visible from the street or other public or private property.
(C) The North Little Rock Police Department shall be required to obtain and serve a warrant authorizing the seizure and removal of any inoperable or junk vehicle located within the curtilage of a residence.
Ref. Ord. No. 9645 adopted 1-22-24