Highland, CA Parking Rules: Abandoned Vehicles (2026)
Key Facts
- Time limit
- More than 72 hours, visible from outside the parcel
- Abatement notice
- 10-day notice mailed to land owner and vehicle owner
- Hearing request
- Within 10 days, to the City Clerk
- Fast removal
- No notice if valued at less than $200.00, with owner release, on limited parcels
- Cost collection
- Special assessment after 60 days unpaid
- Enforcing officer
- Community development director or designee
Summary
In the City of Highland, California, an abandoned, dismantled, inoperative, junked or wrecked vehicle kept for more than 72 hours on a residential, commercial or industrial site and visible from outside the parcel violates Chapter 10.20. The community development director enforces it through a 10-day notice, a hearing right and cost assessment.
Any abandoned, dismantled, inoperative, junked or wrecked vehicles or parts thereof, or fully or partially disassembled vehicle (including vehicles without hoods, fenders, engines, body panels, headlights, trunk lids, wheels, windows or windshields) when placed or kept for more than 72 hours in residential, commercial or industrial sites (except licensed vehicle impound storage yards, garages, vehicle dealers, junkyards and/or dismantling yards) and visible from outside the parcel of land upon which such is or are kept is prohibited and constitutes a violation of this chapter.
Full Breakdown
Section 10.20.070 of the Highland Municipal Code prohibits any abandoned, dismantled, inoperative, junked or wrecked vehicle, or parts of one, and any fully or partially disassembled vehicle, that is placed or kept for more than 72 hours on a residential, commercial or industrial site and is visible from outside the parcel. The code lists what counts as disassembled: vehicles without hoods, fenders, engines, body panels, headlights, trunk lids, wheels, windows or windshields. Section 10.20.030 defines inoperable to include a vehicle that is not currently registered with the Department of Motor Vehicles, so an unregistered car sitting in view of the street can qualify even if it runs. Licensed impound storage yards, garages, vehicle dealers, junkyards and dismantling yards are excluded from the prohibition.
Section 10.20.050 exempts a vehicle completely enclosed in a lawful building with four walls and a roof where it is not visible from the street or other property. Under § 10.20.080, every owner or occupant in control of land in the City of Highland has a duty to remove and prevent recurrence, and a recurrence of the same vehicle on the same property can be treated as a continuation of the original condition.
The community development director or designee enforces the chapter (§ 10.20.010). Under § 10.20.100, the city mails a 10-day notice of intention to abate to the owner of the land and to the last registered and legal owner of the vehicle. Either can request a public hearing within 10 days or send a sworn written statement denying responsibility. Hearings go to the planning commission acting as the appeals board, and § 10.20.120 allows a further appeal to the city council within 10 days. After removal, the city notifies the Department of Motor Vehicles within five days, and unpaid abatement costs can become a special assessment against the parcel after 60 days (§ 10.20.110). Vehicles on streets and alleys are handled outside this chapter's nuisance declaration.
Violations & Fines
A vehicle that stays past 72 hours in public view is a violation of Chapter 10.20 and a declared public nuisance. The city can abate it, remove it and charge administrative and removal costs to the land owner. Unpaid costs, after a demand goes unpaid for 60 days, can become a special assessment collected with property taxes. A hearing appeal requires the hearing fee set by council resolution or a hardship waiver request.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long can an inoperative car sit on my Highland property?
Does an expired registration make my car inoperable in Highland?
How do I contest an abatement notice from the City of Highland?
Who pays when Highland removes a nuisance vehicle?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Highland
California rules heatmap·Compare Highland to another location·View the California parking rules overview
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