Clackamas County, OR Parking Rules: Abandoned Vehicles (2026)

Section 10.03.030(33) defines an inoperable vehicle as one "designed for use on a public highway which has been left on public or private property thirty (30) days or more and is not currently licensed, or not in operating condition, or which has been extensively damaged, vandalized or stripped, including, but not limited to, missing wheels, tires, motor or transmission." The definition excludes an unlicensed but operable vehicle used on farmland to grow, propagate or harvest agricultural products. Section 10.03.060(B)(11) makes it a nuisance to store any inoperable vehicle unless it is housed in a permitted structure or development, but carves out an exception: up to two vehicles per premises may sit behind a sight-obscuring screen built to the fencing, wall, berm or hedge specifications in 10.03.060(C), provided the vehicles stay out of view from the road and surrounding properties.

Two or more contiguous tax lots under common ownership count as a single premises for this two-vehicle cap. Where the vehicle is designed of ferrous metals, Section 10.03.140(O) further requires that only the owner, a licensed auto wrecker, or a licensed towing company may collect, transport or dispose of it. The Department of Transportation and Development investigates complaints and can enter private property at reasonable times under Section 10.03.070 to check compliance.