Can the police tow my car from my property?

Seattle (and all the other cities and the county for unincorporated areas) has ordinances on land use. Storing an inoperable vehicle that can be seen from a public place is in violation of the land use ordinance. If the City believes there is a violation, it will send notices to the landowner. If the landowner does not resolve the situation, the City will sue the landowner. If the court finds there is a violation, the City will ask for fines, attorney's fees, and other costs. The City will also get the power to correct the situation and bill the landowner the costs. Without a court order, the police should not be able to get on private property and remove a vehicle against the wishes of the landowner. You may want to check where your property's boundaries are. Sometimes, if the vehicle is right by where you think the public street is, the public street is further in than you think. That is, your vehicle may in fact be fully or partly on the public street. If you have "been meaning to get rid of it", perhaps this is a good time to act on that thought.

You need to look at your looking county and municipal codes. There could also be some type of statutory violations for abandonment of property. The violations should be on the notice. You should be concerned with getting a bill from the city for towing the vehicle. Make sure to find out what they intend to o with the vehicle so you are not billed for storage of the vehicle.

There is probably some local ordinanance that allows the police to do this. Check with your local town hall. Steven A. Schwartz Attorney/Partner JOEL H. SCHWARTZ, P.C. One Washington Mall, 16th floor Boston, MA 02108 (617) 742-1170 (800) 660-2270 (617) 250-2072 fax [email protected]