Junk and dead cars in Marysville: the rules and a way out

What Sections 1319.07 and 1333.302 say

Two parts of the city's building and property code reach a car that does not run.

Section 1319.07 governs the outside of a property. In any zoning district:

• no vehicle without current plates may be parked or stored outdoors
• no disabled vehicle may be parked or stored outdoors
• no junked, dismantled or wrecked vehicle, or any of its parts, may be kept outdoors; the code means a car so damaged or worn out that it cannot run or is unsafe on public streets
• no vehicle may be parked in the front yard of a home except on the designated driveway to the house or garage

Each of the first three bans has the same single exception: a completely enclosed structure.

Section 1333.302, part of the property maintenance code, is broader still: "no inoperative or unlicensed motor vehicle shall be parked, kept or stored on any premises, and no vehicle shall at any time be in a state of major disassembly, disrepair, or in the process of being stripped or dismantled." Paint work needs an approved spray booth. Heavy jobs such as an overhaul or body work have to happen inside a building designed and approved for them.

How a case moves

Marysville enforces on complaints. Code Enforcement takes them at (937) 645-7362 and asks callers for the street address and a detailed description. If you receive a notice of violation, the city's FAQ says the deadline can be stretched case by case when the owner has made a good-faith effort to comply.

A separate route, Section 303.10, borrows the state's junk-vehicle test from ORC 4513.63 and applies to a car "left uncovered in the open on private property for more than seventy-two hours" with the landowner's consent. Council, the police chief or the municipal zoning authority may mail a certified notice. Within ten days of its arrival the car must be "housed in a garage or other suitable structure" or gone. The charge is a minor misdemeanor, repeated for each 30-day stretch the car stays.

On streets and city lots

Section 351.17.01 gives an inoperable vehicle no more than 72 consecutive hours on public property, which the code says includes "municipal parking lots, streets and alleys."

Police may tow from a public street any car with no current plates, or one wrecked badly enough that it cannot run (Section 303.08). The same section allows a tow after 48 straight hours on someone's land without consent, or after that long at a public curb. An officer photographs an abandoned junk car before it is disposed of. Redeeming a towed car means a trip to the police offices "to furnish satisfactory evidence of identity and ownership," settling any fines or bond, and then the pound operator's bill. The police non-emergency number is 937-645-7300.

Title and plates in Union County

Union County's title office sits at 940 London Avenue, Suite 1400, about 1.5 miles west of Marysville's center as the crow flies. Its number is (937) 645-2001. A second Union County office, at 7020 State Route 161 in Dublin, is about 11.3 miles southeast.

Sign over the title with a notary watching; Ohio requires it. Ohio then gives the buyer a 30-day window to title the car. Pull the plates yourself, since ORC 4503.12 ends the registration at the sale.

Getting an offer

Call (877) 421-6008 or ask online. Helpful details: the odometer reading, any warning lights, whether the plates are current, and whose name is on the title. We collect the car from the garage, the driveway or the street. Nearby pages cover Dublin, Delaware, Hilliard and Columbus.