Alachua County, FL Parking Rules: Abandoned Vehicles (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- Alachua County Code § 74.20(b)
- Prohibition
- No storing an unserviceable vehicle outdoors
- Exceptions
- Enclosed building or licensed junkyard/repair shop
- Civil penalty
- $75.00 Class II fine (uncontested)
- Correction window
- Up to 30 days before citation, § 24.14
- Applies to
- Unincorporated Alachua County only
Summary
Alachua County Code § 74.20(b) makes it unlawful to keep or store an unserviceable vehicle on any land in unincorporated Alachua County unless it sits inside a completely enclosed building or on a lawfully permitted junkyard, vehicle repair business, or waste disposal site. The county treats violations as a public nuisance under § 74.19.
The Board of County Commissioners of Alachua County, Florida, hereby finds that the accumulation of junk and/or the storage of unserviceable vehicles on privately owned lands, except in lawfully established and maintained junkyards, garbage or waste disposal sites, or sanitary landfills, creates health hazards and attractive nuisances and impairs the economic welfare of adjoining properties. Such accumulation of junk and/or storage of unserviceable vehicles in violation of this Article is hereby prohibited and declared to be a public nuisance. ... It shall be unlawful for any person, including the owner of any land, to cause, permit or have stored thereon any unserviceable vehicle, except for unserviceable vehicles stored on the premises of a lawfully established and maintained junkyard, vehicle repair business, garbage or waste disposal site, or sanitary landfill; and except for vehicles stored within a completely enclosed building.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 63).
Full Breakdown
20(b) then makes it unlawful for any person, including a landowner, to 'cause, permit or have stored thereon any unserviceable vehicle,' with narrow carve-outs for vehicles on a lawfully established junkyard, vehicle repair business, garbage or waste disposal site, sanitary landfill, or stored inside a completely enclosed building. 20(c) separately bars leaving unused construction materials on a job site more than seven days after work ends. 08 of the county code, the general penalty section. 00. 14, an officer normally must first give the property owner up to 30 days to correct the violation before writing a citation, unless the violation is repeated or presents a serious health or safety threat. This provision governs unincorporated Alachua County only; Gainesville and the county's other municipalities enforce their own junk-vehicle rules.
Violations & Fines
Keeping an unserviceable vehicle outside an enclosed building or licensed junkyard is a civil infraction under §§ 74.19-74.20, classed Class II with a $75.00 uncontested civil penalty per the county's citation schedule (§ 24.16, Exhibit A). A code officer typically issues a 30-day correction notice before citing under § 24.14, then may cite immediately for repeat violations; guilty findings are punished under § 10.08.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I keep a wrecked car in my yard in unincorporated Alachua County?
What's the fine for storing a junk vehicle outside?
Do I get a warning before being cited?
Does this rule apply if I live inside Gainesville?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Alachua County
Florida rules heatmap·Compare Alachua County to another location·View the Florida parking rules overview
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