Arcadia, CA Parking Rules: Abandoned Vehicles (2026)

Arcadia Municipal Code § 4900 declares the presence of an abandoned, wrecked, dismantled or inoperative vehicle, or parts of one, on private or public property other than highways to be a public nuisance subject to abatement under Chapter 9. Section 4900.2 exempts a vehicle completely enclosed in a building in a lawful manner where it is not visible from the street or other property, and a vehicle stored or parked lawfully in connection with the business of a licensed dismantler or licensed vehicle dealer, or where necessary to a lawfully conducted business. It adds that nothing in the section authorizes maintaining a public or private nuisance, and that the chapter supplements other regulatory codes.

Enforcement belongs to the Superintendent of Building and Safety under § 4900.3, who can enter private or public property to examine a vehicle, identify it, and remove it. Persons authorized to remove vehicles for the Police Department have the same entry authority. The City Council fixes the administrative cost amount, separate from actual removal cost.

Section 4900.4 requires a ten day notice of intention to abate, sent by certified mail to the owner of the land and to the owner of the vehicle, unless identification numbers are not available to determine ownership. The land owner's notice warns that removal costs and administrative costs will be assessed to that owner. Both notices tell the recipient that a public hearing can be requested within ten days of mailing by writing to the City Manager, and a land owner can instead submit a sworn written statement denying responsibility, which counts as a hearing request without requiring attendance.

Hearings under §§ 4900.5 and 4900.6 are held before a City Manager designee called the Hearing Official, with notice mailed by certified mail at least ten days before the hearing. The Hearing Official can order removal, set administrative and removal costs, and delay removal if circumstances justify it. If the vehicle was placed on the land without the owner's consent and the owner has not acquiesced, the City Manager cannot assess costs against the land or collect them from that owner.

An interested party can appeal to the City Council by filing written notice with the City Clerk within five days of the decision (§ 4900.7). Removal to a scrapyard or dismantler's yard can happen five days after the order, five days after the mailed decision notice, or fifteen days after Council action on an appeal, and the vehicle cannot be reconstructed or made operable afterward. Within five days after removal, notice goes to the Department of Motor Vehicles (§ 4900.8). Unpaid costs after thirty days are assessed against the parcel under Government Code Section 38773.5 with the same priority as City taxes (§ 4900.9).