Beaverton, OR Parking Rules: Abandoned Vehicles (2026)

BC 6.05.020 is split into subsections A and B. Subsection A names the places where no abandoned vehicle may be left. The first is a street, as defined in BC 6.02.030. The second is public property, as defined by BC 6.05.010, where the vehicle is left "without the consent of the owner, occupant or any other person in lawful possession of the public property."

Whether a vehicle is abandoned in the first place is answered by the definitions in BC 6.05.010. A motor vehicle qualifies if it sits on a street over 48 hours and any of the listed conditions is present: it appears inoperable, it lacks current registration, or it isn't registered to an adjacent resident. Time alone does not decide the question for a motor vehicle. The 48 hours must be paired with a listed condition. Trailers run on a shorter clock, with a 24-hour threshold.

Subsection B assigns responsibility. The owner of the vehicle "shall be considered responsible for the abandonment" and "shall be liable for the cost of its removal and disposition." The code places that cost on the registered owner. Liability under BC 6.05.020 reaches both removal and disposition, so it covers what happens to the vehicle after the tow as well as the tow itself.

Once a vehicle is abandoned, the city may tow, store and sell it under BC 6.05.025 or under Oregon law, ORS 819.210/819.220. The section applies to Beaverton city streets and public property in Washington County, Oregon. It does not apply to private lots.