Royal Oak Township, MI Parking Rules: Abandoned Vehicles (2026)

Article IV of Chapter 8 of the Charter Township of Royal Oak Code defines the target in § 8-79: a vehicle, boat or trailer on public or private property that is apparently inoperable or extensively damaged so that the cost of repairing it to a safe and operable condition would exceed its fair market value, and that has no current Michigan registration or current-year plates from another state. Section 8-80(a) bars parking, storing or placing any such machine, or component parts or junk from it, anywhere in the Township unless it is wholly inside a fully enclosed building. The two exceptions are licensed or operable vehicles with substantially all main component parts attached, and vehicles that are temporarily inoperable from minor mechanical failure, are not dismantled and keep all main component parts attached, which can remain on private property for no more than 14 days.

The ordinance's stated purposes in § 8-78 are to avoid injury to children attracted to such vehicles, to prevent rodent and vermin habitats, and to remove causes of blight. Section 8-196(a)(1) repeats the rule for residentially zoned property: open storage of unlicensed, inoperable or damaged motor vehicles, or dismantled salvage parts, is a blighting factor unless the items are in a completely enclosed, permitted structure. Section 8-82 leaves licensed junkyards, salvage yards, garages and body or paint shops that operate legally in a proper zone alone.

Removal follows § 8-84. A code enforcement officer or building inspector posts or leaves a written notice on the property or vehicle, or sends it by regular U.S. mail to the owner listed on the tax assessment records. The notice states the date and time affixed, the enforcement agency's name and address, the officer's name, the date and time the vehicle can be taken into custody and stored at the owner's expense or scrapped, and the year, make and vehicle identification number if available. The owner then has 48 hours to abate the problem, move the vehicle to an enclosed structure, or take it to an impound lot, garage or other place of safety the Township designates. After that the Township can remove it and collect the actual cost plus 15% as a special assessment against the premises or the owner. The officer must file a custody report covering the date and location of abandonment, a violation description, the reporting officer's name and title, and where the vehicle is held. Sections 8-85 to 8-87 require a secured impound facility open on normal work days and hours, plus a towing fee and a daily storage fee set by the Township Board and reviewed annually. All fees must be paid before release.