Medford, MA Parking Rules: Abandoned Vehicles (2026)

Section 38-35(a) of the Medford Revised Ordinances defines a junk vehicle broadly: dismantled or removed parts, a removed engine, broken windows, a vehicle up on blocks, a continuously deteriorating condition, or any safety hazard all qualify. Once a vehicle meeting any one of those conditions has sat ungaraged on a residential lot for more than 48 hours, the owner is in violation regardless of intent to repair it. The ordinance covers not just cars but boats, trailers, campers and recreational vehicles as well, closing off the argument that a disabled boat on a trailer is exempt because it is not technically a car.

Enforcement runs through the police department and code enforcement, who issue the required notice; the clock on the 48 hours restarts only if the condition is corrected. The $300 penalty under subsection (c) applies per offense, meaning each vehicle left in violation after notice can generate its own fine, and repeat violations on the same property are billed separately rather than folded into one citation. The rule was adopted by Ordinance No. 503 in 1986 and amended by Ordinance No. 578 in 1993, giving the city nearly four decades of enforcement history on residential junk-vehicle complaints, which are among the most common quality-of-life calls to the police department's non-emergency line.