Highland Planner Eyes Changes To County’s Automobile Graveyard Ordinance

When Highland County’s zoning administrator recently received a complaint of junk vehicles at a county home, he decided to check out the report.

His investigation revealed the report was true, but he was powerless to do anything about it, despite the county having an  “Automobile Graveyard” ordinance to combat such eyesores.

Zoning Administrator Josh Simmons says the homeowners were in compliance due to the wording of the ordinance.

Based on a state law that allowed localities to tweak it to suit their needs, the ordinance was last amended by Highland officials in 2021.

The zoning ordinance reads, “Any lot or place which is exposed to the weather upon which more than five motor vehicles of any kind, incapable of being operated and which it would not be economically practical to make it operative, are placed, located or found.”

Violators face a fine of up to $300 and could face a misdemeanor charge for noncompliance of a removal order.

In addition, the ordinance states that Simmons, as the zoning administrator, is responsible for determining the operability of   vehicles in question.

Clearly, Simmons says, the county needs to amend the current ordinance, which he describes as “too loose.”

“The practical to make operative is very loose. In the past, basically, if there’s a motor and a transmission in it you can make it operable is what we’ve said. You can have a lo of cars that are in rough shape, parts cars, if they have a motor and a transmission in them we consider them okay. You have to have five of them that don’t before we would enforce anything,” Simmons said. “We do have a lot of people around who do demolition derby stuff, but I know few of them who keep five cars around. We’ve had complaints and I’ve gone out there and they are in compliance with the ordinance. I’ve gotten back lash, you know, saying that it shouldn’t be in compliance with the ordinance. So, I’ve told them if that’s the case, then we need to change the ordinance.”

Simmons says he has taken steps to amend the law by seeking legal advice from Highland County Attorney Julian Harf on how to give the ordinance more teeth.

Harf has suggested two ways that the county could do away with allowing homeowners to have up to five junk vehicles on their property. Based on what other jurisdictions have done to tighten up their ordinances, Harf has proposed amending the law to require a junk vehicle to have up-to-date tags and registration or a county inspection sticker.

Those proposed amendments, Simmons says, would eliminate his responsibility of being the one to determine if vehicles are operable or if they could become operable in the future.

Simmons has presented his intention to amend the ordinance to the Highland County Planning Commission. And, he says, he will soon seek the guidance of the County Board of Supervisors before moving forward.

Once an amended ordinance is drafted, it must gain approval from planners and supervisors after a public hearing is held.