Porterville, CA Parking Rules: Abandoned Vehicles (2026)

Municipal Code section 17-17 bars abandoning, parking, storing or leaving any licensed vehicle or part in an abandoned, wrecked, dismantled or inoperative condition on private property or public property other than highways for more than ten days, unless it is fully enclosed in a building and not visible from the street, or is stored on private property in connection with a licensed dismantler, vehicle dealer or junkyard business. Section 17-17.1 separately makes it a misdemeanor to fail or refuse to remove such a vehicle once ordered to abate it.

Section 17-17.2 declares the accumulation of these vehicles a public nuisance under state Vehicle Code section 22660, citing blight, fire hazard, attractive-nuisance danger to minors, and rodent harborage. Exceptions in section 17-17.3 cover vehicles enclosed in a building or behind a six-foot solid fence, and vehicles stored by licensed dismantlers, dealers or junk dealers, or as part of a lawful business. Enforcement runs through the city manager or a designated agent (section 17-17.5), who may enter property to inspect a vehicle, and through the formal notice process in section 17-17.8: a 10-day mailed notice of intent to abate goes to the landowner and vehicle owner, either of whom may request a public hearing before the city council within that 10-day window (section 17-17.9) or submit a sworn statement denying responsibility, and either may appeal. The Department of Motor Vehicles must be notified within five days after removal.