Northeast News
April 15, 2015

Dear Jessie,

My neighbor must really like cars because he has three of them, all junkers, parked on the street out front. Not only does block our ability to park in front of our home (no off street) but whenever parking control comes out to tag the cars, he rolls them forward or backward three inches to technically “move” them. We’re fed up with the game! Help!

Signed,

No more beater cars.

Dear No More Beater Cars,

Well, sounds like you have a “collector” on your hands, and one that isn’t very familiar with nuisance law (or quality vehicles for that matter). Most people would assume that any car can be parked on the street, in a legal parking zone, for any amount of time. On the surface, that makes sense. But what they don’t realize is that Kansas City, Mo., does have a law against certain types of cars, specifically these “junkers” you speak of, being parked on the street, especially if they are running and not in regular use.

So, according to KCMO City Ordinance, Chapter 48-27, any “wrecked, damaged, demolished, disassembled, or disabled vehicles” cannot be parked anywhere other than inside a garage, unless your neighbor has a license for salvaging. My guess is that if the cars have been sitting there for a long time, they are probably projects that will never be finished or even touched, so it is probably also correct to say that he doesn’t have a salvaging license. Also, do these vehicles have current license plates? Because according to the same City Ordinance, expired tags also constitute a nuisance vehicle. So now, you’ve got it easy. Give 311 a call, which you can do anonymously, and let them know about your neighbor’s little car collection. You’ll be parking in front of your house in no time.

Jessie