Pender County, NC Parking Rules: Abandoned Vehicles (2026)

Chapter 10's "Pender County Salvage Yard and Abandoned Vehicle Ordinance," Article IV, governs junked and abandoned vehicles countywide in the unincorporated area. Section 10-74(a) states that pursuant to G.S. 153A-132, the county prohibits the abandonment of motor vehicles on public grounds and private property, and incorporates the state removal-and-disposal statute by reference so the county can remove and dispose of such vehicles. Section 10-74(b) sets the operative numeric standard: an inoperable vehicle with no current registration or license tag shall not be left on public or private property for more than 90 days unless such vehicle is effectively screened from view from public roads, and screening can be accomplished through topography, vegetation, buildings or any other object that blocks the view from adjoining public roads.

Once notice of violation issues, the owner has 30 days to screen or remove the vehicle, and failing that shall constitute a violation of this article. The definitions in § 10-72 tie "salvage yard" to five or more inoperable or unregistered vehicles outside an enclosed building, and § 10-73 exempts vehicles kept in enclosed buildings or on bona fide farms unless the property is itself operated as a junk business. Enforcement runs through § 10-76: the county or an aggrieved person may seek injunctive relief or a court-ordered abatement requiring vehicles and junk to be removed, a violation is a misdemeanor under G.S.

153A-123 and 14-4, and each day of an ongoing violation is charged as a separate offense, on top of a civil penalty of $50.00 per day recoverable as a debt.