Minnetonka, MN Parking Rules: Abandoned Vehicles (2026)

Section 845.025 of the Minnetonka City Code covers abandoned and inoperable vehicles on both public and private property in the City of Minnetonka, Hennepin County. An abandoned vehicle is a motor vehicle that has remained more than 48 hours on public property illegally or lacking vital component parts, or in an inoperable condition for more than 48 hours on private property, with or without the consent of the person in control of the property. The one exemption is a vehicle kept in an enclosed garage or storage building. A vehicle voluntarily surrendered by its owner to the city or its towing contractor also counts.

Inoperable condition means no substantial potential use consistent with the vehicle's usual function. It includes a vehicle with a missing or defective part necessary for normal operation, one stored on blocks, jacks or other supports, and one that has not had a current vehicle license for at least six months. Vital component parts are those essential to mechanical functioning, including the motor, drive train and wheels. A junk vehicle is an inoperable or partially dismantled vehicle used for sale of parts, or kept for scrapping, dismantling or salvage, and it is also treated as abandoned.

Subdivision 2 adds public nuisance vehicles beyond the 48-hour test: a vehicle stopped, standing or parked in violation of an ordinance or state statute, reported stolen, or impeding firefighting, snow removal, plowing or the orderly flow of traffic. A vehicle impeding public road or utility repair, construction or maintenance is also a nuisance if the owner or user received reasonable notice at least 12 hours in advance. The council's findings cite plundering, fire hazards, vermin and dangers to children.

Section 845.045 excludes these vehicles from its standard written-notice abatement procedure, since section 845.025 has its own.