Lawrence, KS Parking Rules: Abandoned Vehicles (2026)

Lawrence's property maintenance code defines an inoperable vehicle broadly: one that is junked, wrecked, wholly or partially dismantled, discarded, or abandoned; one unable to perform the functions for which it was built; one missing a current valid registration plate; or one sitting on jacks, blocks, or chains. 8, codified at Lawrence City Code Section 9-715, deletes the stock International Property Maintenance Code language and replaces it with the city's own rule: no inoperable vehicle, unlicensed motor vehicle, or recreation vehicle may be parked, kept, or stored on exterior property, and no vehicle, recreation vehicle, or trailer may sit in a state of disassembly, disrepair, or stripping at any time on exterior property.

The only carve-out applies where the property has an approved use permitting inoperable-vehicle storage under the city's land development code. A separate exception lets an owner perform a major overhaul, including engine work, body work, or painting, but only inside a fully enclosed structure and only where the property's zoning district allows that kind of work under Article IV of the land development code. Because 'exterior property' covers yards, driveways, and any area outside an enclosed building, a car up on jacks in the driveway or a stripped truck sitting in the yard both violate the section even if the vehicle never leaves the owner's own lot. The code official, the Director of Planning and Development Services or a designee, is charged with enforcing the property maintenance code citywide.