County junk ordinance discussed at meeting

"One person's junk is another person's treasure."

County officials quoted that adage more than once Monday night, as discussion during the Alleghany County Board of Commissioners meeting concentrated on a potential junk vehicle/trailer ordinance — the mechanics, the ramifications, the possible reactions.

The commissioners took no formal action on the matter but agreed to study it further and obtain more in-depth information.

County Planner Jack Conaway said a motor vehicle could be defined in an ordinance to include boats and mobile homes. Junked vehicles include those abandoned as well as those partially dismantled or wrecked and/or which cannot be moved as originally designed.

Conaway laid out two possibilities for dealing with junk vehicles, a voluntary and a mandatory program. The voluntary option would be more expensive, he said. "Your tax money would be used to clean up someone else's property....

"While we would alienate fewer people (with a voluntary program), we would alienate more people on the other side of the issue, that want the junk trailers and cars removed."

He said state law gives county governments the authority to prohibit junk vehicles even on private property, based on considerations including health and safety, protection of property values, promotion of tourism and other economic development, and promoting the comfort, happiness and emotional stability of area residents.

The Procedure

An ordinance would provide for a hearing procedure. The process would begin with observation of the junk vehicle, then notifying the property owner.

If the matter was not resolved shortly thereafter, a citation would be issued. Keeping a junk vehicle would be a criminal violation, and a judge's options would include a fine, jail sentence or ordering the vehicle's removal. A judge could assess the cost of the removal as a lien on the owner's property.

Conaway cited Scotland County as a role model for a mandatory program. That county processes two to four mobile homes per month at its landfill. "They rarely have to go to court."

Commissioner J. Warren Taylor said the key decision is what constitutes junk. "I know some guys who have ‘53 Chevrolets with flower gardens in the bed. That might be beautiful to them, but it might be junk to their neighbors."

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