Abandoned Autos

The task of the Abandoned Autos section is to respond to reports of vehicles being illegally stored on the public streets. When a vehicle is found in violation, a tow warning notice is placed on it, so that the vehicle owner has the opportunity to correct the violation. Our goal is to achieve voluntary compliance, but vehicles remaining in violation after being warned can be towed and impounded by City order.

Violations can be reported by giving us the location of the vehicle, its make, color and style, and the license number if any. 

An abandoned vehicle is defined by City Code (section 16.90.005 ) as one that is:

• illegally stored, in excess of 24 hours, on the street,

and in addition, either:

• does not display valid license plates, or
• appears inoperative, disabled, wrecked, or dismantled.

It is unlawful to park an abandoned vehicle in the public right-of-way, public park, or city-owned or operated property, according to section 16.20.120 of the City Code.

We also put tow warnings on trucks, buses, trailers and RVs, which are prohibited from parking on the street except for the purpose of loading or unloading for a limited time (16.20.120).

Due to the high volume of reports, our goal is to look at a vehicle within a week of receiving a report, depending on workload.