Hartsville to crack down on derelict vehicles
By Samantha Lyles, Staff Writer, slyles@newsandpress.net
At their March 14 regular meeting, Hartsville City Council unanimously passed final reading of an ordinance aimed at more efficient removal of derelict vehicles.
Ordinance 4285 amends existing codes to allow for enhanced enforcement of laws prohibiting abandoned and derelict vehicles within city limits. The measure targets vehicles which have become nuisances or public safety hazards, such as those left for years with flat tires, broken windows, or set on blocks within public view.
In this ordinance, “abandoned vehicle” means “left unattended on a highway or other public right-of-way for more than forty-eight hours, or a vehicle that has remained on private or other public property for a period of more than seven days without the consent of either the owner or person in control of the property upon which the vehicle is situated.”
The ordinance states that a person who abandons a vehicle in violation of city laws “shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be fined not more than five hundred dollars, and shall pay all costs of having such abandoned vehicle removed, stored, sold, or otherwise disposed of.”
The designation of “derelict vehicle” may apply to any vehicle “whose certificate of registration has expired and the registered owner no longer resides at the address listed on the last certificate of registration on record with the South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles and cannot be located after a Reasonable Search; or whose motor or other major parts have been removed so as either to render the vehicle inoperable or the operation of which would violate Section 56-5-4410 of the Code of Laws of South Carolina 1976, as amended (the “South Carolina Code”); or whose manufacturer’s serial plates, motor vehicle identification numbers, license number plates, and any other means of identification have been removed making it impossible to locate or identify the registered and legal owner of the vehicle; or whose registered owner of record disclaims ownership or releases his rights thereto; or which is more than eight years old and does not bear a current registration; or a trailer, including semi-trailers, used as storage and (i) which does not bear a current license plate, (ii) is in a state of disrepair, or (iii) remains on private or public property in excess of 30 days.”
Also on the agenda, Council unanimously passed final reading of Ordinance 4286, approving issuance of a General Obligation Bond of not more than $700,000 to plan, renovate, and construct various road intersections in the city.
Council approved final reading of Ordinance 4283, amending the lease with U.S. Cellular so the company can install new equipment (a microwave dish and elliptical waveguide) on the Magnolia Cemetery Water Tower. The lease amount will increase by $6,000 per year, with that money going to the city’s Utility Fund.
On final reading of Ordinance 4284, a lease to the Darlington County Humane Society of city-owned property at 149 West Carolina Avenue was renewed for an additional year without objection. The lease amount remained set at $500 per month for the storefront, which the Humane Society uses as a retail space.
Ordinance 4287, authorizing the sale of .17 acres of city-owned property at 219 South Fourth Street to Habitat for Humanity for $5.00, passed final reading. Habitat for Humanity has agreed to move the property’s existing house, refurbish it and convert it to an owner-occupied home.
Council also passed several resolutions, including mutual aid agreements between the Hartsville Fire Department and Alligator Fire Department and Nestle Water, and mutual aid agreements between Hartsville Police Department and the Chesterfield County Sheriff’s Office and the South Carolina Department of Corrections.