Abandoned and Junked Vehicles

Longmont Police Services and Code Enforcement enforce the abandoned/junked vehicle ordinance as it appears in the Longmont City Charter.  Vehicles may be considered abandoned if they are left on public street or public property for 48 hours or longer. Vehicles parked on a city street or on public property within that 48 hours must be in working condition and must bear valid license plates.

Abandoned vehicles are a lower priority than some other types of calls for service, such as traffic crashes, for Longmont Police Services.

If you are experiencing homelessness, there are resources available.

Definitions:

Abandoned or Publicly Kept Sleeper Vehicle – Public Property, 11.12.030(3) –  (Effective January 1, 2021) Any sleeper vehicle, parked on public property, including any portions of a highway, street, alley or other right-of-way, except:

1. The vehicle has been issued a parking permit under Longmont Municipal Code 11.12.045
2. The vehicle is being actively loaded or unloaded. Active loading or unloading means the period of time in which a person or persons are physically engaged in the labor of loading or unloading from an apartment, condominium, townhouse, home or business. Contents may not be unloaded into a right-of-way, greenway or park.

Under the new ordinance, sleeper vehicles can no longer move from location to location on a public street or public property. Instead, the sleeper vehicle must be removed entirely from the public street or public property. Vehicles that do not come into compliance with this code may be ticketed or towed.

Trailers owned by contractors for the purpose of storing or moving materials, tools, or equipment necessary to make repairs or alterations on private property may be left for a limited time, not to exceed 180 days, on the block face and the block face on the opposite side of the street of a particular parcel of private property where such repairs or alterations are actively occurring, if the owner of such trailer or trailers posts a conspicuous dated notice, including the address of the job site and contact information, on the street side of each such trailer.

Frequently Asked Questions About Sleeper Vehicles

Abandoned or Publicly Kept Vehicle – Private Property, 11.12.030(1) – Any vehicle left on private property for a period of 48 hours without the consent of the owner or lessee of such property or his/her legally authorized agent.

Junked Vehicle –  Junked vehicle shall mean any vehicle which: (1) Does not bear valid, unexpired license plates, unless of a type specifically exempted from motor vehicle licensing by the laws of the State of Colorado: or (2) is wrecked, damaged or substantially dismantled to the extent that such vehicle is inoperable: or (3) if designed to be capable of moving itself when in proper repair, is incapable of being moved under its own power in its existing condition, or does not have all tires inflated.

• Once notified of an on street abandoned/junked vehicle, staff will respond to the location and confirm that the vehicle is not reported stolen. If not stolen, staff will determine if the vehicle is abandoned or junked.
• If determined to be junked, staff may tow the vehicle immediately, or they may issue a parking ticket for junked vehicle and tag the vehicle indicating that the vehicle will be towed ASAP.
• If determined to be abandoned, staff will mark the tires, tag the vehicle, and return at a later time to tow the vehicle if it has been in fact, abandoned.
• An abandoned/ junked vehicle left on private property can be removed at the property owner’s discretion without any police action. It is suggested to contact Longmont Police Services so it can be determined if the vehicle was stolen and abandoned on the private property.
• Residential private property abandoned/junked vehicles are handled by City of Longmont Code Enforcement at (303) 651-8695.

The code violations are :  11.12.040 Abandoned Vehicle and 11.12.050 Junked vehicle.

Abandoned vehicles may be reported on the Longmont Police Services on-line reporting system.

City of Longmont Municipal Code

If you have additional questions, please contact:

• Longmont Police at (303)651-8555 or by email
• Code Enforcement (303)651-8695