Jacksonville, NC Parking Rules: Abandoned Vehicles (2026)

Chapter 13's abandoned and nuisance motor vehicle article defines an abandoned motor vehicle as one left on a street or highway in violation of a parking law or ordinance, left on city-owned or operated property for more than twenty-four hours, left on private property without the owner, occupant or lessee's consent for more than two hours, or left on any public street or highway for more than seven days. A junked motor vehicle is one without a current license plate that is partially dismantled or wrecked, cannot move under its own power the way it was designed to, or is more than five years old and appears worth less than five hundred dollars; a junked vehicle becomes a nuisance motor vehicle if the code enforcement officer finds it breeds pests, harbors overgrown weeds above eight inches, collects standing water, concentrates flammable fumes, risks tipping over, or is offensive enough to hurt neighboring property values.

Section 13-43 prohibits abandoning any such vehicle or letting one remain on property under a person's control anywhere in the city, citing G.S. 160A-193, 160A-303 and 160A-303.2 as its state authority. The city may tow a violating vehicle to storage, though it cannot remove one from private property without the owner's written request unless a city official finds in writing that the vehicle meets the abandoned or nuisance definition. Before removal, the city gives the registered owner written notice by certified mail describing the findings, offering a hearing within ten days if the owner disagrees, and setting a removal date no sooner than fifteen days after the notice.

Owners can request a probable-cause hearing before the magistrate in the county where the vehicle was towed, and may redeem a removed vehicle by paying the reasonable removal and storage costs. Vehicles awaiting active repair, kept in an enclosed building, or stored at a licensed junkyard are exempt from the article.