Lakewood, NJ Parking Rules: Abandoned Vehicles (2026)

1 finds that unlicensed, unusable vehicles left standing, accessible to children, rodents, vermin and insects, or creating an unsightly appearance, are a hazard to public health, welfare and safety. 4 separately bans leaving any partially dismantled, non-operating, wrecked or junked vehicle on any street or highway. 5 gives an owner, tenant, occupant or lessee only 48 hours to remove a wrecked, junked or discarded vehicle before it becomes a violation, with narrow exceptions for a vehicle inside an enclosed building, one needed for a lawfully operating business, or one in a Township-maintained storage depository.

6, the Chief of Police or a designated officer may remove and impound any vehicle that reasonably appears to violate the section or to be lost, stolen or unclaimed, after which the Department must notify the registered and legal owner by personal service or certified mail of the removal, the reason, and the vehicle's location. The vehicle stays impounded until the owner or an authorized agent pays the removal cost plus a $2 per-day garage charge for as long as it is retained. An Editor's Note to § 3-9 cross-references a parallel Board of Health rule, § BH3-2, Abandoned Vehicles, covering the same subject from a health-code angle.