West Haven, CT Parking Rules: Abandoned Vehicles (2026)

Section 129-6 of the West Haven Code, part of the Blight Prevention chapter adopted by the City Council, is the city's rule on junked and unregistered vehicles. Subsection A bars any person from parking, storing, leaving or permitting on residential property more than one unregistered motor vehicle or one registered motor vehicle not in condition for use on public highways, and whatever vehicle is kept must be parked or stored within a fully enclosed garage or other similar structure. Subsection B is absolute for public ground: in no event can such a vehicle be parked on any public property or right-of-way.

Subsection F exempts a motor vehicle on private property enclosed within a building held in connection with a business enterprise lawfully licensed by the City and properly operated in the appropriate zone. The definition of motor vehicle in § 129-2 is broad: any self-propelled vehicle designed to travel along the ground and any device designed to be towed by one, including automobiles, buses, motorcycles, trucks, tractors, go-carts, ATVs, snowmobiles, campers and trailers, and parts thereof. Abandoned and inoperable motor vehicles situated on the premises are also one of the listed signs of blighted premises in § 129-2(D), unless the site is a state-licensed junkyard.

Chapter 216 adds a separate rule against dumping. Section 216-1 bars leaving any automobile body, chassis, wheel or part of an automobile upon a public dump in the City of West Haven, and § 216-2 bars leaving those items on any private property, land or lot without the written permission of the owner or lessor. Blight penalties under § 129-8 are enforced by citation by the Building Official, West Haven Police officers, the Zoning Enforcement Officer, or Property Maintenance Inspectors, with the Board of Police Commissioners hearing appeals.