NAACC Members:

There are new Vehicle Storage By-Laws being written in many jurisdictions. Some read as follows:

“There may be no more than two unlicensed vehicles on your property” (this includes inside garages and carports)

“There may be no unlicensed vehicles that are partly disassembled on any residential property”

Please use the following suggestion as a guideline to establish your local By-Laws dealing with vehicle storage concerns. The NAACC has sent you variations of this same proposal in the past. Some communities in British Columbia and other Provinces are currently experiencing some of these concerns.

“A Vehicle may be stored on a residential property if the vehicle is hidden from plain view using a hedge row or screening or any other means that prevents the vehicle from being viewed by the general public”.

Ladies and gentlemen, it is up to you to make sure you are not regulated off your own property. We urge you to be proactive with your Provincial and Municipal By-Laws and Guidelines. Contact the NAACC if you need help.

SEMA Pro-Hobbyist Inoperable Vehicle Bill Becomes Law in Kentucky

(Washington, D.C., Apr. 1, 2005) – – SEMA, the Specialty Equipment Market Association, announced that Kentucky Governor Ernie Fletcher signed into law model legislation drafted by the association to place limits on public nuisance ordinances that prevent automobile collectors from pursuing their hobby. Under the new law, junked, wrecked, or inoperable vehicles, including parts cars, stored on private property would only be required to be maintained out of ordinary public view. It would apply to owners or occupants of land in a city, county, or unincorporated area.

States and localities in both Canada and the US often enforce strict property or zoning laws that include restrictions on visible inoperable automobile bodies and parts. Removal of these vehicles from private property is enforced through local nuisance laws with minimal or no notice to the owner. Jurisdictions enact these laws based on the notion that inoperable vehicles are eyesores that adversely affect property values. Many such laws are drafted broadly, allowing for the confiscation of vehicles being repaired or restored.

“We believe that clear legal distinctions must be drawn between an owner using private property as a dumping ground and a vehicle enthusiast working to maintain, restore or construct a vehicle,” said SEMA VP Government Affairs Steve McDonald. “This new Kentucky law as written by SEMA provides safeguards for hobbyists to work on collector vehicles on private property and establishes reasonable provisions that vehicles be located out of public view.”

The new law applies to automobile collectors, defined as those who collect and restore motor vehicles whether as a hobby or a profession. To comply, collectors would maintain hobby cars out of ordinary public view, a sight line within normal visual range by a person on a public street or sidewalk adjacent to the private property. This provision would be achieved by means of suitable fencing, trees, shrubbery, etc.

From SEMA “Kentucky lawmakers were eager to work with us and the state’s hobbyist community to create reasonable and fair compromise legislation permitting outdoor storage of hobby cars and parts if they are maintained in such a manner as not to constitute a health and safety hazard. We are especially indebted to Representative Mike Denham for spearheading this effort.”