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Council hears plan to tighten rules for abandoned and homemade trailers on city streets
Summary
Police Chief Dustin Lensing proposed ordinance language requiring vehicles on city streets to be licensed, operable, display registration and a VIN, and allowing towing of vehicles deemed abandoned; staff cited recurring problems tracing ownership of homemade trailers.
At the Belgrade workshop Police Chief Dustin Lensing described recurring enforcement problems with unlicensed or inoperable vehicles and homemade trailers that lack visible VINs. "Basically the amended language that I'm proposing would state that all vehicles left on the roadway have to be licensed, operable, have visible registration and VIN," he said, adding that the change would allow tow authority where vehicles are not removed.
Lensing described operational challenges — tagged abandoned trailers shifted by others, missing VINs and unclear ownership — and said the ordinance change is intended to provide clearer enforcement steps. Council members generally supported the clarification and asked staff to align language with state processes for obtaining VINs and licenses for homemade trailers before legal review.
