Cedar Rapids proposal could make it easier to tow junk cars

City Hall is ready to add more teeth to its ordinance on junk vehicles.

A key proposed change would require the owner of a vehicle to show that it can be operated under its own power. Otherwise, the vehicle is termed “inoperable” and “abandoned” and becomes a problem that must be remedied within seven working days or more quickly than the current 10-day window, according to the City Hall proposal.

The City Council will hold a public hearing on the matter at its Tuesday meeting, and it is slated then to vote on the changes in the ordinance.

Vehicles stored in an operable, licensed vehicle or trailer are excluded from the ordinance changes.

If approved, the ordinance changes will up the fine for violators to $500 from the current $100.

The City Council's Public Safety Committee already has endorsed the changes.

City officials say the city has plenty of rust buckets in yards with owners who imagine that the vehicles one day might become classics but today are eyesores that ruin the character of a neighborhood.