Harrisburg, PA Parking Rules: Abandoned Vehicles (2026)

Section 3-131.9 of the Harrisburg Codified Ordinances starts with a flat ban: no person shall abandon a motor vehicle in the City. It then adds three 96-hour tests to the definition in § 102 of the Vehicle Code. A vehicle is abandoned if it is inoperable and left unattended on public property for more than 96 hours, if it has remained illegally on public property for more than 96 hours, or if it has remained on private property without the consent of the owner or person in control of the property for more than 96 hours. Subsection C exempts vehicles and equipment used in construction or in the operation or maintenance of public utility facilities, as long as they are left in a manner that does not interfere with the normal movement of traffic. Separately, § 3-131.6 bars any vehicle from standing on a street unless it bears a license showing current registration.

Removal runs through Chapter 3-135. On the written request of the Bureau of Police, a salvor can take possession of an abandoned vehicle and tow it to the salvor's storage facilities, and the request must state whether the vehicle is valuable only as junk (§ 3-135.2A). A property owner with an abandoned vehicle on private land can apply to the Bureau of Police under § 3-135.3 for authority to transfer it to a salvor, listing the year, make, model, serial number and registration number if ascertainable, and signing an affidavit. Anyone reclaiming an abandoned vehicle first pays $25 to the salvor, $35 for each day or part of a day of storage, a $10 City surcharge, and $10 to the City for the towing slip (§ 3-135.7A).

Property-condition rules sit elsewhere. Section 6-305.1 requires every vacant lot to be kept free of accumulations of rubbish, garbage, junk, abandoned vehicles and discarded property. Under the zoning code, § 7-327.15C, within a residential district no motor vehicle without current registration and safety inspection (or with them expired less than 90 days) and no "junk vehicle" can be parked or stored where it is visible from a public street or adjacent dwelling. A junk vehicle is one that cannot be moved under its own power, other than a vehicle clearly needing only minor repairs. In a nonresidential district, a maximum of one junk vehicle can be visible from a street or dwelling.