Polk County's Zoning Ordinance treats a place storing more than two inoperable vehicles (or parts exceeding 240 cubic feet) as a junkyard, which is a restricted use. Storing inoperable large vehicles, machinery or vehicular parts outdoors is also a health nuisance. Cities set residential size limits.
In unincorporated Polk County the Zoning Ordinance defines a 'junkyard' as any place not fully enclosed, 200 square feet or more, used to store or salvage junk, or any place where more than two inoperable vehicles (or used parts exceeding 240 cubic feet) are stored. Junkyards are a heavily restricted use, so accumulating oversized or dismantled vehicles at a home is not permitted. Separately, the Nuisance Regulation bars the outdoor storage of inoperable machinery, appliances and vehicular component parts. There is no general county square-footage cap on a single operable oversized vehicle (semi, RV, trailer) at a rural property; size limits in neighborhoods are municipal.
Operating an unpermitted junkyard is a zoning violation; outdoor junk/inoperable-parts storage is a health nuisance abatable by the County with costs assessed to the property.
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