just when we need them most. Some recent estimates put the number at 18,000 junk cars,” Zoning Administrator Victor Barrett said in a statement.
Chalan Kanoa, he added, “is littered with junk cars, but it is going to take us a while the get to all of them unless a big [company] is interested.”
He said he “fears we are going to overwhelm the limited capacity of the island’s few qualified companies. We are going to focus on the main roads first. Now is the time to act. We will need the support of the community and businesses alike.”
Barrett said at least three criteria are to be followed before a car is tagged as junk vehicle: the model year must be at least three years old; the vehicle must be extensively damaged; and a vehicle must be apparently inoperable, or “must have a “fair market value” equal only to the approximate value of the scrap in it.”
Junk vehicles include automobiles, motorcycles, trucks, buses, motorized recreational vehicles, boats, campers, travel trailers, boat trailers, utility trailers, or other similar devices capable of moving or being moved on public right-of-way, and includes parts of vehicles.
Barrett said zoning officers will provide on the notice a date by which the vehicle must be removed.
“Our zoning officers will provide on the notice a date by which it must be removed, usually 28 days, but in cases where the vehicle is in the public right of way, and could be a danger to pedestrians or the free flow of traffic or hamper access to public utilities, we will work with the Department of Public Safety, and it could be less. If the vehicle has a license plate or a VIN number, we will attempt to get the owner’s information from the Division of Motor Vehicles and notify them by mail. If we can’t find the owner or do not get a response, the vehicle will be towed away and properly disposed of.”
He said “all landowners have the right to the full use and enjoyment of their property, but junk vehicles left on the roadside or on private property visible from the street are a clear example of where an individual’s actions significantly infringe on the use and enjoyment rights of adjacent landowners. The Zoning Office is authorized to abate such a nuisance.”
Barrett said the Zoning Office will publish a notice in the newspaper, asking for local companies to register as approved salvage operators.
The Zoning Office, Barrett said, will then qualify the companies, subject to the requirement of a valid recycling permit from the Division of Environmental Quality, and publish the approved list.
The junk vehicles will be distributed equally among the companies wishing to take them away, free of charge, to the government, Barrett said.
