Grays Harbor County, WA Parking Rules: Abandoned Vehicles (2026)

Grays Harbor County Code Section 8.04.010 states plainly that it is unlawful for any person to store or allow to be stored any junk vehicle or vehicles on any private property within the county. Section 8.04.005 defines a junk vehicle by borrowing the state's three-of-four test under RCW 46.55.230: the vehicle is three years old or older, is extensively damaged, meaning a broken window, windshield, or missing wheels, motor or transmission, is apparently inoperable, or has a fair market value equal only to its scrap value; farm equipment such as tractors and harvesters is expressly excluded from the definition.

Three narrow exemptions apply under Section 8.04.030: a vehicle completely enclosed in a building or otherwise not visible from the street or public property, a vehicle lawfully stored by a licensed dismantler, wrecker, junk yard or dealer on properly zoned, fenced property, and one vehicle actively being restored or repaired, plus up to two parts vehicles, provided the restoration finishes within two years. The county's public services director enforces the chapter, with the Sheriff's Office assisting, and abatement runs through the code enforcement procedures of Chapter 8.40.

Section 8.04.050 treats every violation as both a public nuisance and a Class 1 civil infraction under RCW Chapter 7.80, with each day the junk vehicle remains on the property counted as a separate infraction, and the penalty set by RCW 7.80.120. The county may pursue abatement instead of, or alongside, an infraction notice, giving code enforcement two parallel tools against a property owner who ignores an initial warning about a stored junk vehicle.