Port Hueneme dead cars: street rules, yard rules, selling

A drip can become a bill

Cars that sit tend to leak. Section 3279 bans parking or storing one on public streets or public property unless it is kept so nothing but "clear water" drips out. The owner of a car parked in violation "shall be liable for the costs incurred by the City for cleaning, treating, or repairing" the pavement. That oil stain from months of sitting is a charge the city can pass on.

What neighbors can see

The zoning code's property maintenance section, 10226, covers yards and driveways:

• Keeping vehicles, "either operative or inoperative, in front yards, unscreened side yards or any other yard areas" that the public right-of-way can see. Operable automobiles, campers, boats, trailers and trucks under 6,000 pounds may park on a "monolithic" surface.
• Leaving "vehicle parts" on a driveway or in a visible yard.
• Taking apart or repairing "any vehicle" unless the work goes with a permitted use and happens inside a building or behind a wall or fence that blocks the public view.

That last line means parting a car out in the driveway is its own code problem, apart from the dead car itself.

How the city declares a nuisance

Part B of Chapter 4 handles vehicles, using the Vehicle Code's definition of a motor vehicle (Section 3417). Section 3418 declares that any motor vehicle that is "abandoned, wrecked, dismantled or inoperative," or any of its parts, "located on any private property, or public property, excluding highways," is a public nuisance, to be abated, removed and disposed of. The Enforcement Officer gives notice whenever a car is kept that way "by reason of its condition and location."

Water adds one more rule. Under Section 3999.11, a driver who goes onto a barricaded street covered by water must pay for any rescue, "plus the expenses for the removal of any inoperable vehicle." A car that drowns there leaves a city bill on top of the damage; flood damage covers selling one.

The California side of the sale

California has no county title offices; the state DMV holds every record. A Port Hueneme sale needs the seller's signature on the Certificate of Title, plus any lender on file. The buyer then hands it in with the $15 fee. A notary is not among the DMV's steps for a private sale. REG 138 is yours to file, and the deadline is 5 days. When a dismantler is the buyer, smog doesn't apply. Plates stay with the car in the ordinary case; recording the car as Junk sends them back to the DMV.

Close by

Oxnard lies 2.6 miles off, measured in a straight line; Ventura is 7.8 and Camarillo 10.7. See California for statewide rules.

Getting an offer

Port Hueneme sellers can call (877) 421-6008 or send the form. Our truck reaches a paved pad, a garage, or a fenced side yard.