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Commission accepts first reading of derelict-vehicle ordinance after public hearing
Summary
Habersham County commissioners accepted a first reading March 17 of a new derelict-vehicle ordinance that defines "derelict vehicle," establishes a 30-day removal window, a 14-day notice before magistrate court, and allows county removal and liens for noncompliance. The ordinance will return for final action next month.
Habersham County commissioners on March 17 accepted the first reading of a new derelict-vehicle ordinance intended to address unregistered, dismantled or abandoned vehicles on private property and along public rights of way.
Planning and code staff presented the ordinance as a replacement for a previously deleted, brief provision in the county's Comprehensive Land Development Ordinance. The draft defines a derelict vehicle as any unregistered, junked, dismantled, inoperative or abandoned vehicle left on a property for more than 30 days and prohibits storage of such vehicles on public property and in rights of way.
Under the draft ordinance the property owner would be cited and given 14 days to remove a derelict vehicle; failure to comply would lead to a magistrate court appearance. If the court orders removal and the owner still does not comply, the county would have authority to remove the vehicle and place a lien on the property. The draft includes exceptions for vehicles kept within a building or for recognized yard art; licensed junkyards are governed by separate county rules.
Mike Beauchamp, who presented the ordinance, said the draft aims to address individual derelict vehicles rather than licensed junkyards. Residents during the public-hearing portion asked questions about how the ordinance would affect decorative or long-stored vehicles, and staff said the ordinance is not intended to harass properties that use old vehicles as yard art.
Commissioners closed the public hearing, read the ordinance caption for first reading, and voted unanimously to accept it for first reading. The ordinance will return for further consideration and a final vote at a future meeting (the presenter told the board the item will be on the agenda next month for final action).
