North Charleston, SC Parking Rules: Abandoned Vehicles (2026)

Section 9-67(4) of the North Charleston Code of Ordinances lists inoperable or unsafe vehicles among the conditions the city declares to be public nuisances alongside junk accumulations, overgrown vegetation and stagnant water. A vehicle qualifies once it either fails to meet state or federal safety regulations, is incapable of self-propulsion, or is dismantled, and it has stayed in that condition on the property for more than 72 hours. The rule reaches both public and private property because it sits in the nuisance article that the health officer and the public safety and housing officer are directed, under Section 9-69, to inspect for as often as necessary.

5, Article VII is exempt as well. Once a vehicle is declared a nuisance, Section 9-86 lets the chief code enforcement officer serve the owner or any party in interest, including a tenant, with a complaint and a hearing date before the public safety and housing committee, by personal service, certified mail, or publication under state law. Section 9-87 gives the owner the right to appear, present evidence and cross-examine witnesses at that hearing; the committee must issue a written order within five days, and the owner then gets at least five more days to comply. If compliance still does not happen, Section 9-88 lets city crews or contractors enter the property and remove the vehicle themselves.