Smyrna, TN Parking Rules: Abandoned Vehicles (2026)

Title 13, Chapter 4 of the Smyrna Municipal Code covers abandoned, wrecked, dismantled, or inoperative motor vehicles in the Town of Smyrna, Tennessee. A junked motor vehicle is one without a lawfully affixed unexpired license plate, or one that is wrecked, dismantled, partially dismantled, inoperative, abandoned, or discarded. The definition of motor vehicle is wide: automobiles, buses, motorcycles, trucks, tractors, go-carts, golf carts, campers, trailers, airplanes, and self-propelled boats such as jet skis. Public property means any street or highway and any other publicly owned property, and private property is every other piece of real property within the town.

Under § 13-401(2), no person can park, store, or leave such a vehicle on public or private property for more than 72 hours, whether attended or not. Section 13-402 declares the presence of these vehicles unlawful and exempts a vehicle enclosed within a building on private property, a vehicle held in connection with a business that is licensed by the town and properly operated in the appropriate business zone, an operable vehicle adapted for drag strips or raceways, and a vehicle retained by the owner for antique collection purposes.

Enforcement follows a written-notice process. Under §§ 13-403 through 13-406, the town police serve a written notice on the occupant of the land, or on the owner or agent if there is no occupant. The notice is posted in a conspicuous place on the private property and duplicate copies are sent by certified mail. The Police Department gives the notice at least 30 days before issuing a citation, and if the vehicle is not removed within 30 days after written notice, it issues a citation to the person the notice was directed to. Section 13-404 makes the owner of the vehicle and the owner or occupant of the private property, either or all of them, responsible for removal. Hearings on a citation are held in the town court before the Town Judge under § 13-408. Automotive service and repair businesses face a separate storage rule in § 13-407: repairs entirely inside a fully enclosed building, and no vehicle awaiting repair visible from a right-of-way for more than 7 days.