Chicopee, MA Parking Rules: Abandoned Vehicles (2026)
Key Facts
- Storage limit
- More than three days outdoors is prohibited
- Tag notice
- Seventy-two-hour decal, no prior notice to owner
- Fine
- $50 per day until the vehicle is moved
- Appeal
- To the Health Commissioners within five working days
- Enforcing agency
- Chicopee Department of Public Health
- Exception
- One unregistered vehicle, if operable
Summary
In the City of Chicopee, Massachusetts, no one in control of real property can leave an abandoned, disassembled or inoperable motor vehicle outdoors for more than three days. A vehicle can be tagged with a seventy-two-hour removal decal, then towed at the owner's expense, and a fine of $50 per day runs until it is moved.
A. No person, company or corporation in control of real property in the City of Chicopee, other than a bona fide licensed commercial auto salvage yard or commercial garage, as determined by the License Committee of the City Council, shall permit the outdoor storage or parking thereon for more than three days of an abandoned, disassembled, inoperable motor vehicle except for one unregistered vehicle that is operable. ... § 262-2. Notice to remove; failure to remove. A. Upon inspection, those motor vehicles may be appropriately tagged, without prior notice to the owner of said vehicle, with a decal calling for a seventy-two-hour notice to remove. B. Failure to remove such vehicle will be subject to: (1) Removal by towing at the owner's expense unless an appeal is made to the Health Commissioners within five working days. (2) A fine of $50 per day until such vehicle or vehicles is moved.
Full Breakdown
Chapter 262 of the Code of the City of Chicopee, adopted by the Board of Aldermen (now City Council) on 4-18-1989, bars any person, company or corporation in control of real property in the City of Chicopee from permitting the outdoor storage or parking of an abandoned, disassembled, inoperable motor vehicle for more than three days. The single exception for owners is one unregistered vehicle, and only if that vehicle is operable. Bona fide licensed commercial auto salvage yards and commercial garages, as determined by the License Committee of the City Council, are outside the rule.
Real property under § 262-1(C) covers yards, lawns, driveways, empty property, land parcels and tree belts. It also reaches public vehicular byways where the Chicopee Department of Public Health determines the vehicle is a public safety hazard, an attractive nuisance or detrimental to the health of the Chicopee community. Under § 262-1(B) the Department of Public Health can deem such a vehicle a public nuisance and an attractive hazardous condition, citing MGL c. 111, § 123.
The definitions in § 262-7 decide what counts. Inoperable means the vehicle lacks a valid inspection sticker, cannot run under its own power, cannot run without assistance, cannot move safely, or is not fit in all ways for safe, legal and ordinary use on the public ways of the commonwealth. Unregistered means no valid registration or number plate under MGL c. 90. Disassembled means in a state of ruin so as to be incapable of propulsion. Abandoned, for property on municipal land, means left there for more than three days under circumstances suggesting the owner has no plan to claim it.
Enforcement starts with inspection. Under § 262-2, a vehicle can be tagged without prior notice to the owner with a decal calling for a seventy-two-hour notice to remove. If the Department of Public Health has to remove the vehicle, § 262-3 says it is impounded at a site the Department picks and the cost of impounding and storage is assessed to the owner. Section 262-4 leaves the Chicopee Police Department free to enforce MGL c. 135 separately.
Violations & Fines
Failure to remove a tagged vehicle brings removal by towing at the owner's expense, unless the owner appeals to the Health Commissioners within five working days, plus a fine of $50 per day until the vehicle is moved. Impound and storage costs are assessed to the owner. Under § 262-5 known violators get written notice to abate and five calendar days to comply, and under § 262-6 the Department of Public Health can prosecute in the Housing Court of Hampden County, held at Springfield, Massachusetts.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I keep one unregistered car in my driveway in Chicopee?
What makes a car inoperable under Chicopee's ordinance?
How long do I have after a seventy-two-hour tag goes on my vehicle?
Who enforces the abandoned vehicle rule in Chicopee?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Chicopee
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