Junk and dead cars in Santa Paula: the rules and selling

The rear-third, 30-day window

The same section bans keeping junk "on any portion of a lot or parcel of land within the city" and calls it a public nuisance. Homes get one narrow allowance: junk may sit on "the rear one-third of the lot" for up to 30 days when the occupant intends, within that time, to take it to a dump or another lawful place. It is a window for a cleanout, not long-term parking for a dead car.

The police notice and its 10 days

Chapter 90 is the city's abandoned-vehicle law. Section 90.09 sends a "10-day notice of intention to abate and remove" by certified mail, one copy to whoever owns the land and one to the car's registered owner, unless the car's numbers are gone. It orders removal "within 10 days from the date of mailing of this notice," so the days already running when it lands in your box are lost.

A hearing can be requested inside those 10 days. If none is, "the Chief of Police shall have the authority to abate and remove" the car, and the cost plus administrative costs go to the landowner. Santa Paula's Section 90.10 has the hearing run by its Chief of Police or by an officer named by the Chief. Notice goes out by mail at least 10 days before. Landowners have two protections:

• A landowner who swears in writing, inside the 10 days, that the car isn't their responsibility has asked for a hearing and need not attend.
• When the car arrived "without the consent of the owner of the land" and was never accepted afterward, the property is not billed.

Pickups and service stations

Section 72.17 caps vehicles rated over three-fourths of one ton, and unhitched trailers, at five hours on a residential street beyond the time a job there needs. After that the vehicle must move "at least one-quarter mile" and stay away "for a minimum of four hours" before parking on that street again. A dead one-ton pickup at the curb can't do it.

Service stations have their own limit. Under 16.72.030, no "permanently disabled, junk or wrecked vehicles" may sit outside the station building except in a screened trash enclosure, so a car that quit at the pumps can't be left out front.

California title, smog and plates

Title changes in California run through the state DMV, never a county office. Put your signature on the title; a lender on record adds theirs. The buyer files the paperwork. No notary appears anywhere in the DMV steps for a Santa Paula private sale. Send REG 138 within 5 days so later tickets and liability move to the buyer. Selling for dismantling means no smog test, and standard plates normally stay put. Missing title? REG 227 is the first form; junk car with no title covers it. Long-parked cars can also carry back fees; see car sitting for years.

Neighbors

Camarillo is 9.4 miles from Santa Paula as the crow flies, Moorpark 11.8 and Ventura 12.3. Statewide rules are on the California page.

Getting an offer

Have a Santa Paula car to sell? Call (877) 421-6008 or fill in the offer form. We can pick up at the curb, at the back of a lot, or at a station or garage.