By Adrienne Nettles
Staff Writer
June 03, 2003

NORTHPORT | In the driveway of LueBirta Bonner’s home on Bridge Avenue are two inoperable vehicles that she’s waiting for a friend to pick up.

She has another vehicle that is not working because it needs a starter. There’s a fourth vehicle that needs a new tag so she can give it to her grandson. And finally, she owns a school bus that’s driven only occasionally by her son.

Even with all Bonner’s inoperable vehicles -- some of them with flat tires and some of them without tires and supported only by a jack -- she said she doesn’t think the city should have the right to tow any of them.

“I don’t think it’s fair to move my personal things off my personal property," she said.

But a state attorney general opinion issued in May differs with Bonner. It says the Northport Police Department has the authority to tow vehicles on private property under Northport’s “junk vehicle" ordinance.

The ordinance requires vehicles that do not meet state specifications for operation on a public street be removed from private property and right-of-ways.

The opinion was sought by the city to clarify the ambiguous meaning of a portion of the city’s vehicle ordinance that allows the city to enforce state statutes when a property owner with a “junk" vehicle fails to comply with written warnings or stores “junk" vehicles on private property.

“The City of Northport peace officers have the authority to cause a motor vehicle that has been on private property in a residence or business district for a period of seven days to be removed to a commercial garage or lot after the peace officer has posted a notice of removal on the vehicle" wrote Attorney General Bill Pryor in the opinion.

Northport City Attorney Joe Cade said Pryor’s opinion, which does not carry the force of law, but will allow the city to protect itself from lawsuits, will enable the police department to move forward with the removal of “junk" vehicles in driveways, front yards, back yards and even alleyways between homes as long as proper written notification is given to the vehicles’ owners.

“The owner can pick it up after being towed if he pays the towing charge," he said.

Prior to the opinion, the city only towed “junk" vehicles left on city right-of-ways for more than 10 days after receiving a written warning by the police department.

“The attorney general’s opinion clears up the steps we have to go through to tow vehicles off private property," said Northport Police Chief Billy Galloway.

He said his department has already begun identifying vehicles in the city that are illegally stored on private property.

“Once we get everything in motion this opinion will help remove vehicles that in the past we were not able to do anything with," he said.

City Council President Bob Rust encouraged the police department to move aggressively with the removal of “junk" vehicles.

“I was called out to a home in Deerfield because there was a house with six abandoned vehicles," he said. “All that is to me is an area that is snake- and rodent-infested."

Mayor Harvey Fretwell agreed.

“I think this needs to be done because it cleans up the community and makes everybody’s property more valuable," he said. “This is especially going to help in the older parts of town that we’re trying to preserve."

City Councilman Robert Thomas said the new ability the city has to remove “junk" vehicles could prevent West Nile cases.

“We’re in another mosquito and West Nile season and this could decrease the potential and hazard for the disease," he said. “This problem is sporadic throughout my district."

Bonner, who lives in Thomas’ district, said the city should consider the residents’ right to privacy.

“In fact, it would look better if my vehicles were gone," she said. “I realize that. But, it’s my private property."

Reach Adrienne Nettles at adrienne.nettles@tuscaloosanews.com or 722-0207.

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