Santa Maria, CA Parking Rules: Abandoned Vehicles (2026)

Enacted under Vehicle Code Section 22660, Chapter 5-1 lets Police Department and code compliance employees enter property to identify a nuisance vehicle and, once found abandoned, wrecked, dismantled or inoperative in public view, remove it (Section 5-1.06). Before removal, the City must mail a 10-day Notice of Intention to Abate and Remove by registered or certified mail to the landowner and the vehicle's last registered owner (Section 5-1.08); the recipient may request a hearing within 10 days. At the hearing, a designated officer decides whether the vehicle is a nuisance and may order it removed and assess the administrative and removal costs against the vehicle's owner or the landowner (Section 5-1.10).

If unpaid within 30 days, those costs become a lien on the parcel collected through the property tax roll under Government Code Section 38773.5 (Section 5-1.13). The chapter exempts a vehicle fully enclosed in a building or behind a solid fence at least six feet high and not visible from the street, and vehicles stored lawfully on the property of a licensed dismantler, dealer or junk business (Section 5-1.04). A low-valued vehicle worth less than $200 that is missing its motor, transmission or wheels and sits on unimproved or agricultural-zoned land can bypass the hearing process and be disposed of after a signed owner release (Section 5-1.09).

Once removed, the City notifies the DMV within five days and the vehicle cannot be reconstructed or made operable again unless it qualifies for historical or horseless-carriage plates (Sections 5-1.11, 5-1.12).