Ordinance Number 63

An Ordinance Providing for the Impounding of Motor Vehicles and Other
Movable Property

The Town Board of the Town of Grant, Washington County, Minnesota
does ordain:

Section 1. Definitions. The following words and terms for the purpose
of this ordinance are defined as follows:

Agricultural equipment: Any motor-powered vehicle on which rubber
tires are mounted and any acceaaory componenta therefor and which ia
used excluaively for the operation and maintenance of farms and
houaeholda. Typical uaea for such agricultural equipment include but
are not limited to the following: plowing fielda, maintaining
driveways, cutting hay and grasa, planting, and harvesting. This
defmition shall not include any motor-powered vehicle such as a
bulldozer, acraper, dump-truck, semi-tractor and trailer, or backhoe,
which is primarily used for excavation, construction, hauling, or any
other form of non-agricultural commercial use.

Authorized town offcial: A town board member or any Town police
offcer, firefighter, or any other duly authorized person.

Fully screened area: A direct visual barrier that prevents any
movable property within its confmes from being aeen at any time from
any adjoining private properties or public place.

Junk car: Any motor vehicle which is inoperable, partially
dismantled, used for repair of parts, or as a source of repair or
replacement parts for other vehicles, or kept for scrapping,
dismantling, burning or salvage of any kind, or which is not properly
licensed for operation in the state of Minnesota.

Movable property: Any form of property which can be moved on or off
any private or public land either under its own power or through
pushing, towing or carrying by a vehicle, person, or animal. This
definition includes all forms of motor vehicles.

Motor vehicle: Any motor-powered vehicle having motor-driven wheels,
tracks, or any other mechanical form of propulaion which is uaed for
transportation of goods, people, or animals; for digging or any form
of movement of dirt or any other natural or man-made material; for
pulling or pushing any form of load; and any accessory components
thereon.

Nuisance movable property: Any movable property declared to be a
public nuisance under Section 2 of thia ordinance.

Person: A natural person, firm, association, partnership,
corporation, including any agent of any of the aforesaid.

Public place: Any street, avenue, alley, road, highway, boulevard,
parking lot or facility, park, or any other public property or
premiaea.

Recreational equipment: Any movable property used solely for
recreational purposes.

Setback: The minimum horizontal distance between a structure and
street right-of way, lot line, or other reference point as provided
by Ordinance. Distances are to be measured perpendicularly from the
property line to the most outwardly extended portion of the structure.

Town police officer: The Town constable or peace officer, any
Washington County police deputy, or any other police officer
authorized by the Town Board to provide police services for the Town.

Unclaimed movable property: Any impounded movable property not
claimed by or for any reason not released to the owner thereofwithin
twenty-four (24) hours after notice is either received by the owner
or notice mailed to him as provided herein.

Section 2. Certain Movable Property Declared a Public Nuisance;
Removal and Impounding Thereof: Any motor vehicle or other movable
property that is found stopped, standing, or parked in violation of
the trafiic regulations and provisions or zoning restrictions of the
Town of Grant or that is violating the conditions of any conditional
or special use permit issued by the Town or that is reported stolen
or that is found impeding firefighting, snow removal, road
maintenance, or the flow oftraffc or that is ajunk car on any public
place or on any private land or premises unless it shall be in a
building or fully screened area or that is otherwise located on any
public place or private premises in violation of the terms of this
ordinance shall be deemed and declared a public nuisance and such
nuisance may be abated in the manner hereinafter set forth. Any
authorized town official may immediately order such nuisance motor
vehicle removed and impounded in the manner hereinafter provided and
it shall be surrendered to the duly identified owner thereof by the
removal contractor only upon payment of the fees hereinafter provided
which are declared to be the movable property pound fees covering
such movable property. Any town police officer may issue a verbal
warning to the owner of any movable property suspected of being in
violation of this ordinance. This verbal warning shall be reported to
the Town Clerk who shall duly record said warning in permanent
records of the Town of Grant. Any Town Police Officer may issue a
citation, upon the direction of the Town Board for the removal of any
nuisance removable property from any public place or private land
that is in violation of any aspect of Section 3 of this Ordinance.

Section 3. Movable Property on Public or Private Land. In all zoning
districts within the Town of Grant, no person shall store, park,
keep, place, or permit the parking or storage of, or repair of any
movable property on any public or private land except ( 1) for
temporary outdoor use or (2) within a permanent building or fully
screened area and subject to the following exceptions:

1.  Properly licensed motor vehicles, including recreational vehicles
or any other form of movable recreation equipment, provided that such
movable property is less than forty (40) feet in length and is owned
and licensed in the name of the current resident of the property on
which it is parked, stored, or placed.

2.  Construction and landscaping equipment currently being used on
the premises. The term currently being used is defmed as the period
of time that construction is actively occurring on the premises. In
no case may this period of time exceed a period of two hundred (200)
continuous days in any annual period without a conditional use permit
for such purpose being issued by the Town Board.

3.  Unoccupied licensed trailers which are owned and licensed in the
name of the current resident of the property on which it is parked,
stored, or placed, less than twenty-five (25) feet in length, which
are used only for agricultural purposes.

4.  Agricultural equipment owned and licenaed in the name of the
current resident of the property on which it ia parked, atored, kept,
and placed and used excluaively on the premises and which conform to
all terma of this ordinance and are not stored, parked, kept, and
placed, on any public or private land located between any lot line,
atreet, or other reference point and the closest established setback
line.

5.  Within all areaa contained within the General Business (GB)
Zoning District of the Town of Grant any motorized vehicle, trailer,
construction equipment, or any other vehicle not having been
permitted through a conditional use permit issued by the Town Board
and having hauling capacity of one ( 1) ton or greater or having a
gross weight exceeding twelve thousand (12,000) pounda or length
greater than twenty-five (25) feet so long as such movable property
is parked on the premises for loading or unloading purposes and in no
case longer than any seven (7) continuous day period.

6.  Laundry drying.

7.  Patio furniture or any other form of outdoor furnishings or
decoration and woodpiles (except diseased wood from tree removal is
governed by Washington County Ordinances and the State of Minnesota
Statutes).

Movable property shall be deemed, stored, parked, placed, or kept for
temporary outdoor use only ifthe movable property is not ajunk car
and is located on the premises outaide of a building or fully
screened area for a period or periods aggregating no more than
seventy-two (72) houra in a calendar week or a period or periods
aggregating no more than fourteen (14) daya in a calendar year.

Section 4. Fblly Screened Area. Screening ahall in combination or
singularly consist of earth mounds; berms or ground forms; fences and
walls; landscaping fixtures (such as timbera); or living evergreen
trees or bushes of sufficient height and density to prevent any
movable property contained within the fully screened area from being
seen at any time from any adjoining public place or private property.

Section 5. Parking, Storage, Repair, or Maintenance on Junk Cars or
Other Movable Property. No person shall park, keep, place, store or
permit the parking or storage of or repair or replace parts or do
maintenance work on any junk car on any public place or on any
private lands or premises unless such movable property shall be
within a building or fully screened area on such private premises so
aa not to be visible from any adjoining private properties or public
place.

Section 6. Abandonment. No person shall abandon any junk car or any
movable property or any part thereof upon any public place in the
Town of Grant.

Section 7. Partially Diemantled, Wrecked, dunked, Diecarded, or
Non-Operating Movable Property on Public or Private Property. It
shall be unlawful for any person in charge or in control of any
property within the Town of Grant to allow any junk car or other
partially diamantled, non-operating, wrecked, junked or diacarded
movable property including any parta thereof or therefrom, to remain
on any public or private property for any period longer than
seventy-two (72) houra unlesa the junk car or other movable property
ia located within an encloaed building or fully screened area.

Section 8. Written Notice for Nuieance Movable Property. Upon
issuance of a citation for the removal of any nuiaance movable
property or any nuisance junk car from any public place or private
property by any authorized town official, the Town Clerk shall give
written notice to the owner of said nuisance movable property thereof
as shown by the recorda of the Washington County Tax Aasessor or in
recorda of the State Registrar of Motor Vehiclea or other pertinent
regiatering agency. Such notice shall be sent by registered or
certified mail or delivered by any town police officer to the address
as indicated on said recorda. Such notice shall include a description
of said movable property.

Section 9. Removal Contractor. The Town Board may contract with one
or more peraona, firms, or corporationa to provide to the Town
removal services required to enforce this and other Town and County
Ordinances and State law.

Section 10. Impounding, Removal, and Release. The Town removal
contractor shall take immediate posseasion of any nuiaance motor
vehicle or any nuiaance movable property duly ordered impounded and
ticketed for any traffic or parking violation by any town police
officer and ahall tow auch movable property to the deaignated atorage
pound. The Town removal contractor ahall take possesaion of any
nuisance movable property from any public place or private properties
after a citation haa been issued by any town police officer and has
ordered the removal and impoundment of such nuisance movable property
and seventy-two (72) hours after written notification has been sent
to the address of the owner of said nuisance movable property, and
shall tow such movable property to the designated storage pound. No
auch movable property shall thereafter be released without
authorization of the Town Clerk or any town police offcer. The
removal contractor shall immediately after impounding said movable
property notify the Town Clerk and the town police officer who orders
the impoundment of all such impounded movable properties including
description, license number, and any other pertinent information.

Section 11. Notification to the Owner. The Town Clerk shall give
notice of the impounding of any such movable property to the owner
thereof as shown upon or in records of the State Registrar of Motor
Vehicles or other pertinent registering agency. Such notice shall be
by registered or certified mail and shall be sent or delivered by any
town police officer to the addresa as indicated on said records. Such
notice shall include a description of the movable property impounded
and a statement of the intent of the Town to dispose of such movable
property after thirty (30) daya unleaa such movable property is
released.

Section 12. Removal and Impounding Charges and Removal and Storage
Charges.  The removal and storage chargea in connection with
impounding or any movable property shall not exceed the amount agreed
upon in the contract between the Town and the duly appointed removal
contractor.

Section 13. Storage of Impounded Movable Propertiea. The removal
contractor during the time the movable property is impounded shall
not permit the movable property to be removed or released to the
owner until the impounding and etorage fees hereinafter provided have
been paid. At the time of the return of the movable property the
removal contractor shall release the same by a release in writing
which shall state the date of such release together with the charges
enumerated thereon and the purpose for which such charges were made.

Section 14. Report of the Authorized Town Official. Any authorized
town official directing the impounding of any nuisance movable
property ahall prepare written report of such movable property which
report ahall among other things include the following: make and type
of movable property, licenae number, motor number, number of tires or
other form of propulsion, tools, and other separate articlea of
peraonal property, general description of the movable property with
regard to condition, damaged parts, and other such information as may
be necessary to deacribe adequately the movable property and such
property delivered to the removal contractor. The removal contractor
shall receipt for and verify such report and hia aignature thereon
ahall be considered a receipt for the movable property and the
property described therein.

Section 15. Sale of Movable Properties. Any movable property which is
impounded pursuant to thia or any other ordinance or atatue and which
ia not releaaed within thirty (30) days of mailed notice to the
owner, may be sold by the Town to the highest bidder at public
auction or sale following reaaonable published notice thereof. The
proceeds of such sale ahall first be applied towards the cost of
handling, atoring, and sale of such movable property.  The net
proceeds shall be placed in the general fund. If within six (6)
months of such sale the former owner appliea to the Town Clerk for
payment of auch net proceeds and if satisfactory proof of ownership
ia presented, the net proceeda shall be paid to the former owner.

Section 16. Sale of Movable Pereonal Properties Where Owner of
Movable Property Gannot be Identif'ied. If any auch movable property
is found and removed under circumstances which do not give the
authorized town official directing the impoundment or the removal
contractor knowledge or means of inquiry as to the true owner
thereof, the authorized town official shall immediately report auch
facts to the Town Clerk.  Any such movable property or property
unclaimed or abandoned by any owner for a period of thirty (30) days
from and after such impounding ahall be sold by the Town Clerk or the
Town of Grant at a public sale.

Section 17. Severability. It is hereby declared to be the intention
of the Town of Grant that the proviaiona of this Ordinance are
severable. If any provision or the application thereof to any person
or circumstances is held to be illegal or invalid by any court of
competentjurisdiction, such invalidity or illegality shall not affect
other provisions ofthis Ordinance or the applications of aaid
provisiona to any other property.

Section 18 Repealing Previoue Ordinances. This ordinance effectively
repeals Ordinance Number 29 and Section 706.01 of Ordinance Number 50
of Grant Township.

Section 19. Effective Date. Thia ordinance ahall be in full force
after its passage and publication according to law.

Section 20. Penalty. Any person violating any provision of this
ordinance shall upon conviction thereof be punished by a fine not
exceeding $700.00 and/or imprisonment not exceeding ninety (90) days.

Passed by the Town Board of Supervisors of the Town of Grant this 1st
day of November, 1988.

Blaine R. Erickson, Chairman

Attest:

Sheila S. Davis, Clerk