Springfield, OH Parking Rules: Abandoned Vehicles (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing sections
- § 357.07(b)-(d); § 357.99
- Abandonment
- Prohibited citywide
- Time limit
- 48 hours in one place
- Penalty
- First-degree misdemeanor
- Impoundment
- City Manager authorized
Summary
In the City of Springfield, Ohio § 357.07 makes it illegal to abandon a vehicle anywhere in the city or leave one in the same place for more than forty-eight hours. Property owners cannot let a partially dismantled, wrecked or junked vehicle above the junk-value threshold sit longer than forty-eight hours either, and the City Manager may impound violating vehicles.
357.07 ABANDONED, WRECKED, NONOPERATING OR DISCARDED VEHICLES. ... (b) Abandonment of Vehicles. No person shall abandon any vehicle within the City and no person shall leave any vehicle any place within the City for a period exceeding forty-eight hours. (c) Storage Prohibited; Exceptions. No person in charge or control of any property within the City, whether as owner, tenant, occupant, lessee or otherwise, shall allow any partially dismantled, nonoperating, wrecked or junked vehicle with a fair market value exceeding the value provided in Section 357.04 to remain on such property longer than forty-eight hours, and no person shall leave any such vehicle on any property within the City for a longer time than forty-eight hours. ... 357.99 PENALTY. Whoever violates any provision of this chapter is guilty of a misdemeanor of the first degree, and shall also be assessed any costs incurred by the County or City in disposing of an abandoned junk motor vehicle, less any money accruing to the County or to the City from such disposal.
Full Breakdown
Springfield Codified Ordinances § 357.07(b) bars abandoning any vehicle within the city and separately bars leaving any vehicle in the same place for more than forty-eight hours, a broader public-right-of-way rule than the private-property junk-vehicle notice process in § 357.01. Subsection (c) targets property owners, tenants, occupants and lessees directly: none may allow a partially dismantled, nonoperating, wrecked or junked vehicle whose fair market value exceeds the threshold set in § 357.04 to remain on their property longer than forty-eight hours, with exceptions for a vehicle inside an enclosed building, one kept on a lawfully operating business's premises when necessary to that business, or one held in a lawful City storage depository; this exception language was added by Ordinance 95-31 in 1995.
Subsection (d) authorizes the City Manager or a designee to remove or have removed any vehicle that appears to violate the section, or that is lost, stolen or unclaimed, and to impound it until lawfully claimed or disposed of under City ordinances. The Chief of Police and the Director of Development share notice authority for the related junk-vehicle definition and towing procedures in §§ 357.01 through 357.05.
Violations & Fines
Under § 357.99, violating any provision of Chapter 357, including the § 357.07 abandonment and forty-eight-hour rules, is a first-degree misdemeanor, the highest misdemeanor tier used in this chapter. The violator is also assessed any costs the County or City incurred disposing of the abandoned junk motor vehicle, offset by any money the County or City recovered from that disposal.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long can an abandoned car sit before Springfield, Ohio removes it?
Can I keep a wrecked car in my yard in Springfield?
What is the penalty for an abandoned vehicle violation?
Sources & Official References
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