Lynchburg, VA Parking Rules: Abandoned Vehicles (2026)

Sec. 21-61 makes it unlawful to keep an inoperative vehicle, trailer or semitrailer, or part of one, anywhere on residentially, commercially or agriculturally zoned property unless it sits fully enclosed in a building or structure, or is otherwise shielded or screened from view. "Inoperative" covers a vehicle that isn't in operating condition, doesn't display valid license plates, or carries an inspection decal that has expired more than 60 days earlier. "Shielded or screened" specifically means hidden by plantings or fencing so it can't be seen at ground level from outside the property; a car cover or tarp does not satisfy this, per the section's own language.

There is a narrow restoration exception: an owner who can demonstrate they are actively restoring or repairing the vehicle may keep it, plus one additional inoperative vehicle used for that restoration, as long as both stay screened from view. Licensed automobile dealers, salvage dealers and scrap processors are exempt under Sec. 21-62. When a violation is found, Sec. 21-63 requires the property owner to remove the vehicle within ten days of written notice. If that deadline passes without action, Sec. 21-64 lets the city remove the vehicle itself, and Sec.

21-65 allows the city to dispose of it after a further 15 days' written notice to the owner. Sec. 21-66 makes the owner responsible for the removal and disposal costs, collectible like unpaid taxes, and Sec. 21-67 turns that cost into a lien against the property until paid. Sec. 21-68 preserves the city's separate option to proceed instead under the state abandoned-vehicle statutes, Va. 2-1213.