Rowlett, TX Parking Rules: Abandoned Vehicles (2026)

Code of Ordinances § 22-81 defines a junked vehicle as a self-propelled vehicle that is wrecked, dismantled, partially dismantled, or discarded, or that has been inoperable for more than 72 consecutive hours on public property or 30 consecutive days on private property, and that displays an expired or missing license plate. Section 22-82 declares any such vehicle visible from a public place or right-of-way a public nuisance because it endangers public safety, reduces property values, invites vandalism, creates a fire hazard, and produces urban blight.

Under § 22-83, a person who maintains that nuisance commits a misdemeanor punishable for each day the vehicle remains, and the municipal court must order the vehicle abated and removed upon conviction. Section 22-84 lays out the abatement process: on request of the property owner or occupant, the municipal court judge holds a public hearing to determine whether the vehicle is a junked-vehicle nuisance and, if so, enters a removal order; the state department of motor vehicles must be notified within five days of removal so it can cancel the vehicle's title.

Notice of the nuisance must be delivered personally or by certified mail giving the owner ten days to abate before removal, and any hearing request must come before that ten-day window closes (§ 22-85). At a hearing, the vehicle is presumed inoperable unless the owner proves otherwise (§ 22-86(b)). The rule does not apply to vehicles completely enclosed in a building and out of public view, or to vehicles stored by a licensed dealer, junkyard, or antique-vehicle collector if kept orderly, free of health hazards, and screened by a fence or shrubbery, a tarp or car cover alone does not satisfy the screening requirement (§ 22-87).