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Code Enforcers: Junk Cars
Posted: Aug 16, 2011 2:46 PM by Bart Bedsole - bbedsole@kristv.com
Updated: Aug 16, 2011 6:52 PM
CORPUS CHRISTI - In our Code Enforcers segment last week (click here to see it),we explored the issue of illegal dumping at a spot on Evans Road near the city limits.
Most of the materials there were pretty typical (old tires, mattresses, furniture), but there was also a car, which is subject to a different ordinance that deals with abandoned vehicles.
It's a 1988 Chevrolet Camaro in rough shape, but still intact.
Code Enforcement Officer Ed Salazar says he checked an aerial photo from back in January, and it was in that photo.
"So it's been here at least since January of this year," he says.
"What's going to happen here is we're going to run that plate, identify the owner, or the last known owner of record, and any lienholders that might be interested in the vehicle, and notify them that they have 10 days to come and collect this vehicle."
The city's ordinance on junk cars came from the Texas Abandoned Motor Vehicle Act.
A vehicle is labeled a "junk car" if it has at least one expired tag and is inoperable for a period of 30 days or more.
If a notice is placed on a vehicle and the owner doesn't come forward to claim it within 10 days, the city can ask a judge for an order to tow it to a scrap yard.
"And we will destroy the vehicle, you will not get it back," explains Salazar.
"Once it's been confiscated under this law, it's gone."
In this case, Salazar says the orange sticker he put on the camaro was removed, but it's unclear who did that.
The city also contacted anyone who might have a financial interest in the car, but for several weeks, no one responded.
However, the owner finally came forward, and said he has every intention of removing the car.
He was told that if he moves the car before a judge can sign the order the tow and destroy it, it's his.
But if the city gets to it first, it's gone.
If you need the help of the Code Enforcers, go to the city's Customer Complaint Center by clicking on the following link.
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