Clay, NY Parking Rules: Abandoned Vehicles (2026)

Chapter 216, adopted by the Town Board on November 16, 1998, defines an abandoned, junked or inoperative motor vehicle as one that is unlicensed, wrecked, stored, discarded, dismantled or not fit for legal highway use, held for parts or scrap, or worth less running than it would cost to repair. A vehicle registered but displaying no current plate is presumed unlicensed, and a vehicle that cannot move under its own power is presumed abandoned. Section 216-2 bans storing such a vehicle on private property in the Town, with four exceptions: it sits inside a garage or other enclosed structure; it belongs to a lawfully operating business that needs it for its work; it sits in a depository the Town itself maintains; or it is the single unlicensed (but not disabled) vehicle kept on a residential or agricultural lot.

Under § 216-3, the Commissioner of Planning and Development's enforcement official serves written notice giving the owner 10 days, or another period the Commissioner sets, to remove the vehicle. If it is not removed in time, the Town or its agent may enter the property, remove and dispose of the vehicle, and bill the owner for the cost plus legal and administrative fees set in Chapter 105, Fees, collectible as a civil judgment or added to the property's Town tax bill. Anyone may file a written complaint with the Commissioner, who must investigate; notice of violation can be served personally, by certified and regular mail, or posted on the property or vehicle itself.