Santa Fe revises ordinance, expands ability to remove broken-down vehicles

Aug. 7—For some wannabe mechanics in Santa Fe, the dream of getting that broken-down car that's been sitting in their front yard for years up and running again is about to end.

By choice or by force.

A series of revisions to the city's junk vehicle ordinance, designed to make it easier for the city's code enforcement officers to carry out the law, will go into effect Tuesday.

"We are responding to constituents who have been writing to us and complaining through our [Constituent Relationship Management online] system," said City Councilor Carol Romero-Wirth, one of the sponsors of the changes. "It was certainly at a level where we thought we ought to evaluate what we have and see if we can make it better."

The changes include clarifying the definition of "junk vehicle" and tying fines and fees of $100 per day to nuisance enforcement and penalties. Fines are capped at $9,000.

Under the revised ordinance, a junk vehicle is any automobile that has one or both of the following characteristics for 90 days or more: The vehicle is inoperable and does not meet minimum legal requirements to be operated on public streets and highways in New Mexico, and it has been continuously inoperable or has been wrecked, dismantled, partially dismantled or abandoned.

A special-interest vehicle is exempt. This is defined as a motor vehicle not less than 35 years old that is being preserved or restored by a collector for its historical value.

"The ordinance does not apply to properly stored or covered vehicles, vehicles stored/parked in connection with a licensed dealer or junkyard, or vehicles stored by active-duty members of the U.S. Armed Forces," the city wrote in a news release.

Among the more significant changes: A tarp, trees or shrubbery will no longer considered an appropriate method of storing or shielding an inoperable vehicle under the revised ordinance.

Jason Sena, a code enforcement supervisor, said the revisions will make a big difference in the city's ability to crack down on the problem.

"Prior to the revision, it was hard for us to enforce, as there [were] four criteria that had to be met for it to be considered a junk vehicle," he said. "It had to have flat tires and broken windows and inoperable and not registered. ... So it was really hard for us to give notices of violation or whatever because we'd go out and some these people, all they had to do is fill up a tire and the vehicle would be back in compliance."

Sena said code enforcement officers will "ease into" the beefed-up ordinance to give property owners a chance to learn about the changes.

"We do have to let people know about it, and what we'll do is we'll go out and first give out warnings, let them know what the issue is and how to bring it into compliance," he said. "But after the first warning, then we will start handing out notice of violation and court citations."

A woman whose elderly parents have been on the city's radar for having inoperable vehicles on their property said code enforcement needs to be patient with residents.

The woman, who declined to give her name, said she's been trying to get rid of the broken-down cars, but it's not cheap, and she is also being met with resistance from her father, who owns them.

"You know, older people don't like to get rid of stuff," she said.

The woman said she wished the city would offer financial assistance to help people get rid of old, broken-down cars.

"It's not easy when you have parents that are 80 years old and they live on Social Security," she said.

While the woman works on removing the inoperable vehicles from her parents' property, which is near DeVargas Center, she said she's in the process of trying to get a permit to build a fence but has encountered red tape at City Hall. The fence would shield the property from public view but is mostly being built to keep the homeless out, the woman said.

"There [are] so many homeless people in that area right now," she said.

When the City Council and Mayor Alan Webber considered the revisions last month, Webber and other city officials said the changes were triggered by complaints not just in one part of the city but across Santa Fe.

"This is a communitywide concern that everybody should have in their neighborhood, regardless of what part of Santa Fe they live in — the right to a clean, attractive neighborhood without junk vehicles and other old, out-of-service vehicles making their neighborhood look less than attractive," Webber said.

Webber said a working group examined the issue very carefully.

"We talked to our enforcement team to get their input about what they were seeing and what they were observing out in the field, so it was based very much on actual observed evidence and problems and then tailored to try to speak to those specific kinds of problems — not a broad paintbrush but very, very targeted and very specific," he said.

The ordinance doesn't go after people who have a "particular fondness" for historic or collectible vehicles, Webber said.

"We're talking about cars and vehicles that have been really left to rot in their yard, and it really clutters up neighborhoods all over the city," Webber said.

In the past, the city has been criticized for creating laws it doesn't have the staff to enforce.

But Sena, who is the supervisor of code enforcement as well as zoning and short-term rentals, said he expects his department to be fully staffed by next week.

"All positions are filled with code enforcement ... and there will not be a problem to enforce any ordinance," he said.

That may be wishful thinking.

The woman whose parents' property has been a source of complaints to the city said removing the inoperable cars will take time.

"The yard is going to get cleaned soon; I just haven't had time because I've been so busy," said the woman, who works full time. "By next month, there's gonna be a big difference, but right now, it just is what it is. And I think I speak for a lot of people because a lot of the elderly, they can't clean their yards. It's hard. Like I told the city, you're just going to have to deal with us and we do it when we can. That's all there is to it. I'm not rich enough to just go and do what you want me to do right away."

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