Bethlehem, PA Parking Rules: Abandoned Vehicles (2026)
Key Facts
- Abandonment presumption
- 48+ hours, missing plate/sticker/VIN
- Governing section
- § 1733.02 (amends IPMC § 302.8)
- Enforcing agency
- Bethlehem Police Department
- First offense fine
- $200
- Third offense fine
- $1,000
- Amending ordinance
- Ord. 2022-10, passed 5/3/2022
Summary
Bethlehem's amended property maintenance code bars inoperative, unregistered or abandoned motor vehicles from being kept on any premises. A vehicle left on private property more than 48 hours without a valid plate, current inspection sticker and readable VIN is presumed abandoned, and the code official can call police to remove it.
(A) Except as provided for in other regulations, inoperative, unregistered, abandoned or unlicensed motor vehicles shall not be parked, kept or stored on any premises, and vehicles shall not at any time be in a state of major disassembly, disrepair, or in the process of being stripped or dismantled. Painting of vehicles is prohibited unless conducted inside an approved spray booth. (1) A vehicle, other than a pedalcycle, shall be presumed to be abandoned under one or more of the following circumstances, but the presumption is rebuttable by a preponderance of the evidence: (i) The vehicle has remained illegally on private property for more than 48 hours. (ii) The vehicle is left unattended on private property for more than 48 hours and does not bear the following: (a) A valid registration plate. ( ... b) A current certificate of inspection. (c) An ascertainable vehicle identification number.
Full Breakdown
8 (Motor Vehicles) for Bethlehem. As amended by Ordinance 2022-10, passed May 3, 2022, inoperative, unregistered, abandoned or unlicensed motor vehicles cannot be parked, kept or stored on any premises, and no vehicle may sit in a state of major disassembly, disrepair, or ongoing stripping or dismantling; painting is barred outside an approved spray booth. A vehicle other than a pedalcycle is presumed abandoned, rebuttably, if it has remained illegally on private property more than 48 hours, or if it sits unattended on private property more than 48 hours without a valid registration plate, a current inspection certificate, and an ascertainable VIN.
02, and the vehicle undergoing that work must be registered to the property owner or the lawful resident or tenant. Wrecked parts and unused components of a junk vehicle cannot be stored anywhere on the property in clear view from a public way. 02(B) directs the code official to contact the Bethlehem Police Department, which removes the vehicle under Title 67 Pa. Code, Chapter 253 (Salvors) and the Vehicle Code's Title 75, Chapter 73 (Abandoned Vehicles and Cargos).
Violations & Fines
Section 106.4, as amended by Ordinance 2022-10, sets the property maintenance code's penalty for any violation, including an unremoved abandoned or junked vehicle: $200 for a first violation, $500 for a second, and $1,000 for a third or subsequent violation, or imprisonment of thirty, sixty or ninety days respectively, or both, with each continuing day of violation after notice a separate offense.
Frequently Asked Questions
When is a vehicle legally considered abandoned in Bethlehem?
Can I keep a car I'm repairing in my yard?
Who removes an abandoned vehicle if the owner won't?
What's the fine for an abandoned vehicle violation?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Bethlehem
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