Removing abandoned cars in South Lake Tahoe

We've all seen them. Trailers and vehicles of all types parked on the side of the road for days, and even weeks or months with no apparent owner. Have you ever wondered what the process is?

In July, a white Mustang was abandoned on the side of Gardner Street behind Les Schwab Tires. It was stripped of everything of value, including tires and parts of the motor. Some remains of this once nice car, along with computer parts were strewn about, left for someone to take care of.

Who is that someone?

On July 29, the South Lake Tahoe Police Department tagged the car, advising the owner had 14 days to move it. Now that the two weeks have gone by and the vehicle is still there, Welcome's Auto Body & Towing is able to go retrieve it.

Who is stuck with the bill?

AVA (Abandoned Vehicle Abatement) is the legal process for vehicles on private or public property that fall under the guidelines of a grant the City of South Lake Tahoe received for removal of such cars. After tagging and the 14 days have passed and Welcome's tows the car, the grant reimburses all on a quarterly basis. In the past year, about 200 cars have been towed under this abatement program per Amy Poole, the lead Community Service Officer (CSO) for the police department.

Typical reasons for the AVA are vehicles with registration that has been expired for more than six months or visually non-operational, such as the Mustang's case. It can sometimes take more than the 14 days as Poole and her team have to obtain consent from the owner of the property as well as "noticing" the vehicle owner.

There is also another way that is used for nuisance vehicles left on the City's roadways.

A 72-hour notice is given for any vehicle on a public street that is parked in the same location for 72 consecutive hours. This isn't normally used as there is no grant money to cover the tow. Poole said they try to locate the owner.

Welcome's Auto will pick up those type of abandoned vehicles (though they could be trailers, snowmobiles or RV's) and then try to collect the cost of towing and storage through a collection, then lien process, should it get to that point. Many times, they are stuck with the bill as the collection route does not result in fees paid.