The presence of abandoned, nuisance, and junked motor vehicles can threaten the character and safety of a neighborhood, according to Billie Hall with the Town of Elizabethtown Planning Department.
Hall presented a brief update to the Elizabethtown Town Council at its August meeting on the town’s Voluntary Junk Vehicle Disposal Assistance Program. She reported receiving a lot of positive feedback about the program since mailing out letters informing citizens of the options available.
Three reasons to take advantage of the program are as follows:
1. The visual blight of a deteriorating vehicle may cause neighborhood property values to decrease.
2. Crimes of opportunity may increase. There are reports of increased criminal conduct associated with inoperable and junk vehicles.
3. Dilapidated vehicles increase public health and safety problems. They create unsafe harbors for children, and provide a habitat for rodents, insects and other pests.
The Town of Elizabethtown has approached this problem through the adoption of ordinances (Chapter 90), which prohibit the storage of these vehicles. Hall announced in the June meeting, “While there are many economic and social factors that may cause someone to abandon their vehicle, we, at the Town of Elizabethtown, believe that it is the work of the Town to respond to the needs of its citizens by providing services to the community and keeping our community clean.”
The town has created the Junk Vehicle Disposal Assistance Program to help citizens get rid of these vehicles at no cost. The staff has worked to identify abandoned, nuisance and junked vehicles in the town and make contact with property owners, occupants or renters of lessees with a contract for free removal of declared nuisance vehicles.
The staff will continue through September to verify vehicles needing free removal. Property owners also may contact the Town for participation in the program. Beginning Oct. 1, 2019, any vehicles verified as abandoned, nuisance, or junked will be considered in violation of the Town’s Code of Ordinance Chapter 90 and will be subject to removal of property at the owner’s expense.
For more information, contact the Town of Elizabethtown at 862-2066.
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