Compton, CA Trash & Recycling: Illegal Dumping (2026)

16 declares a vehicle used, or attempted to be used, to commit illegal dumping under Penal Code Sec. 3(h) a public nuisance subject to seizure and impoundment for up to 30 days, but only where police have probable cause to seize the vehicle and the owner or operator already has a prior conviction for the same offense within the preceding three years. 17 spells out the seizure trigger: a valid arrest for the dumping offense, a qualifying prior conviction within three years, and a finding that the vehicle presents a traffic or safety hazard; the up-to-30-day clock includes any time the vehicle sits in storage.

18 requires the City to mail the registered and legal owner notice within two working days of impoundment, explaining the right to a post-storage hearing, and caps storage charges at five days if that notice is late. An owner has 10 days from the notice date to request the hearing, which must be held within 48 hours of the request, excluding weekends and holidays, before a hearing officer who was not involved in ordering the seizure. 20 let a vehicle be released early: to the registered owner if the arrest lacked probable cause, the vehicle was stolen, or a co-owner agrees to keep the driver from using it during the impoundment, and to a legal owner such as a lienholder who pays all towing and storage fees, without lien-sale processing fees if redeemed before the 15th day.