Appleton, WI Parking Rules: Abandoned Vehicles (2026)

Section 12-102(a) prohibits leaving unattended any motor vehicle, trailer, semitrailer or mobile home on a public street or highway, or on public or private property, for such time and circumstances that it reasonably appears abandoned; the code sets a bright line at 48 hours without the owner's permission, after which the vehicle is deemed abandoned and constitutes a public nuisance. Under Section 12-102(b), any vehicle in violation is impounded until claimed or disposed of, though the Police Chief may junk it immediately, without waiting out the storage period, if towing and storage costs would exceed the vehicle's value and it is not needed for evidence.

Section 12-102(c) requires the City to hold an impounded vehicle for a minimum of ten days after sending certified mail to the owner and any lienholders of record, and that notice must list the year, make, model and serial number, state where the vehicle is held, and warn that failing to reclaim it waives all title and consents to its sale. Unreclaimed vehicles may then be sold under Wis. 40 per Section 12-102(d). Section 12-102(e) makes the owner, unless the vehicle was stolen, responsible for all towing, storage and disposal costs, with any shortfall recoverable in a civil suit by the City.

Within five days of a sale or disposal, Section 12-102(f) requires the Police Chief to notify the state Division of Motor Vehicles and give the purchaser a copy of that notice. A separate general-property rule, Section 12-101, adopts Wis. 0139 for other abandoned personal property, including bicycles, held 30 days before disposal.