Morgan County, IN Parking Rules: Abandoned Vehicles (2026)

In unincorporated Morgan County, Indiana, an ABANDONED VEHICLE is defined in the county's weeds-and-junk chapter to have the same meaning as I.C. 9-13-2-1: any motor vehicle at least three model years old, mechanically inoperable, and left on private property continuously in a location visible from public property for more than 20 days (Morgan County Code § 94.21). The same section folds abandoned vehicles into the broader definition of JUNK, alongside vehicle parts, scrap iron, tires and dismantled appliances; farm equipment, implements and antique farming machinery are excluded.

The Morgan County Department of Planning and Zoning, acting as the Code Enforcement Official, administers enforcement (§ 94.21). Any resident may file a violation report; the Code Enforcement Official then inspects and, on a finding of violation, serves a written notice giving the owner ten business days to abate (§ 94.22(D)(3)). Where the violation involves one or more abandoned vehicles, § 94.22(D)(4) requires the county to also follow the notice-and-abatement due process set out in Indiana Code, including I.C. 9-22-1 et seq., before the vehicle is removed.

An owner may appeal a violation notice to the Hearing Authority, the Board of Commissioners or its designee, before the ten-day period runs; a timely appeal tolls the deadline (§ 94.22(E)). If the owner still fails to comply, the county or a bonded abatement vendor may enter the property to remove the vehicle, and the certified abatement costs become a lien on the property, capped at $10,000 for a single or double family dwelling parcel and $20,000 for other property (§ 94.22(G), (J)).