(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any Pasco Police Officer or any person authorized by the Director may inspect and certify that a vehicle meets the requirements of a junk vehicle. The person making the certification shall record the make and vehicle identification number or license number of the vehicle if available, and shall also describe in detail the damage or missing equipment to verify that the value of the junk vehicle is equivalent only to the value of the scrap in it.

(2) The Pasco Police Officer or Department representative shall provide information on the vehicle’s owner to the landowner.

(3) Upon receiving information on the vehicle’s owner, the landowner shall obtain a junk vehicle notification form from the Department. The landowner shall send by certified mail, notification to the registered and legal owners shown on the records of the Department. The notification shall describe the redemption procedure and the right to contest the sale of a junk vehicle in a district court hearing.

(4) If the vehicle remains unclaimed more than 15 days after the landowner has mailed notification to the owner, the landowner may sign an affidavit of sale to be used as a title document.

(5) If no information on the vehicle’s owner is found in the records of the Department, the landowner shall place a legal notice of custody and sale in a newspaper of general circulation in the county. The newspaper notice shall include:

(6) The landowner of the property upon which the junk vehicle is located is entitled to recover from the vehicle owner any costs incurred in the removal of the junk vehicle.

(7) For the purposes of this section, the term “landowner” includes a legal owner of private property, a person with possession or control of private property, or a public official having jurisdiction over public property. [Ord. 2623 § 1, 1986; Code 1970 § 9.62.040.]