Junk cars, boats and the code in Lake Jackson

What the code calls junked

Section 38-72 sets out two tests. One is a plate that has expired or gone missing. The other covers a car that is smashed up, stripped, abandoned in place, or dead past a deadline, which is 72 hours straight when it sits on public ground and 30 days straight on private ground. As written, the code joins those two tests with the word "or".

Section 38-73 then declares a junked vehicle "including a part of a junked vehicle" a public nuisance. That declaration does not mention whether anyone can see it. Section 38-74 makes it unlawful to keep one anywhere in the city.

Two things fall outside the article. One is a car fully enclosed in a building where the street and neighbors cannot see it. Second, a collector's antique or special interest vehicle kept tidy, free of health risks, and shielded from everyday view. Covers and tarps get no mention.

Notice, hearing and removal

Peace officers and code officers enforce it, and Section 38-75 authorizes them to enter private property, examine and identify the car, then haul it away or direct its removal. The notice allows 10 days or more. It reaches the person in whose name the car is registered, any lender holding a lien, and the landowner or tenant, by hand or by certified mail. It says the vehicle must go, and a hearing must be asked for, by the 10th day. When nobody knows where the owner lives, officers may simply leave it on the car. Returned mail pauses things until the 11th day after the return.

Request a hearing on time, and the city manager or a person the manager picks holds it in public, on day 11 or later. Lake Jackson presumes it dead unless the owner demonstrates otherwise. If it is still there after the 10th day, the city may tow it. A removed car can never be rebuilt, moving it elsewhere in town does not end the case, and the state is told within 5 days. Penalties come from the city's general section, Section 1-5: a $500 limit per violation, raised to $2,000 where the rule guards fire safety, zoning, or community health and sanitation, and each day stacks a new count.

Code Enforcement covers junk and abandoned vehicles in public view that are off the street. Reports go to (979) 415-2430, its online form, or the office at 25 Oak Drive.

Street hours in Lake Jackson

Section 98-131 sets clocks for passenger cars on the street:

• 72 hours alongside a home the owner or driver owns or occupies, or has permission to use
• 48 hours on streets in nonresidential areas
• 48 hours for a disabled car guarded by flares or other signals
• Beside a stranger's home without permission, once every 7 days for at most 20 hours

Section 98-136 lets an officer have a car removed from a street or city property once there is reason to think it has been abandoned past 48 hours. Getting it back takes proof of ownership plus the tow and storage bill. The police department is at 5 Oak Drive, main line 979-415-2700.

Title work in Angleton

Brazoria County runs Texas title work for Lake Jackson from its Angleton office, Suite 104 of 237 E. Locust St. That office is about 8 miles north as the crow flies, and its number is (979) 864-1320. The buyer takes the title application there.

The seller's chores are few. The title wants a sale date, the odometer number and your signature. Sign the 130-U application too, with the sale price written in. Texas does not ask for a notary. Next, tell TxDMV about the transfer within 30 days, so any ticket or toll the buyer runs up lands on the buyer. Lost the title? Form VTR-34 replaces it; counter service costs $5.45. Unscrew the plates for a future car or for defacing; the registration sticker cannot go with them.

Getting an offer

Phone (877) 421-6008 or fill in the request: make and model, odometer, whether the engine fires, and the paperwork you have. Our truck comes to the carport, the curb or the shop. For neighbors, see Angleton, 8.5 miles off, and Alvin. The Texas page covers the state's rules.