Corpus Christi, TX Parking Rules: Abandoned Vehicles (2026)

Corpus Christi Code of Ordinances Sec. 13-38 declares a junked vehicle, or any part of one, visible at any time of year from a public place, public right-of-way, or adjacent private property to be a public nuisance because it is detrimental to public safety, reduces property values, invites vandalism, creates a fire hazard, attracts minors, and produces urban blight. Sec. A. Transportation Code ch. 683 and separately exempts an 'antique vehicle' (25 years or older) owned by a motor vehicle collector for historic preservation. Under Sec.

13-40, code enforcement officials may enter private property to inspect a suspected junked vehicle and must notify the last known registered owner, every lienholder, and the property owner or occupant by personal delivery, certified mail with five-day return receipt, or Postal Service signature confirmation. The notice must describe the nuisance and state that it must be abated and removed within 10 days of delivery or mailing, and that the recipient can request a hearing before that period expires. A recipient who wants to contest whether the vehicle qualifies as junked must request a hearing from the municipal court clerk within that same 10-day window; the municipal court judge then holds a hearing no earlier than the 11th day after service, at which the vehicle is presumed inoperable unless the owner proves otherwise.

Sec. 13-42 bars a removed vehicle from being reconstructed or made operable again and limits disposal to a scrapyard, licensed demolisher, or other city-designated site for scrap, demolition, or salvage only. A vehicle stored fully enclosed in a building, or lawfully stored and screened by a fence, fast-growing trees, shrubbery, or a form-fitting cover on licensed dealer, junkyard, or collector property, is exempt from these abatement procedures. Sec. 13-45 makes maintaining the nuisance a criminal offense punishable by a fine of up to $200, and a conviction requires the court to also order the vehicle removed.