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A. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any Bothell police officer or any city employee authorized by the director shall inspect and may authorize the disposal of an abandoned junk vehicle. The person making the inspection shall record the make and vehicle identification number or license number of the vehicle if available, and shall also verify that the approximate value of the junk vehicle is equivalent only to the approximate value of the scrap in it.

B. The Bothell police officer or other city employee authorized by the director shall provide information on the vehicle’s registered and legal owner to the landowner.

C. Upon receiving information on the vehicle’s registered and legal owner, the landowner shall mail a notice to the registered and legal owners shown on the records of the department. The notification shall describe the redemption procedure and the right to arrange for removal of the vehicle.

D. If the vehicle remains unclaimed more than 15 days after the landowner has mailed notification to the registered and legal owner, the landowner may dispose of the vehicle or sign an affidavit of sale to be used as a title document.

E. If no information on the vehicle’s registered and legal 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: (a) the description of the vehicle; (b) the address of the location of the junk vehicle; (c) the date by which the owner must redeem the vehicle; and (d) a telephone number where the landowner can be reached. If the vehicle remains unclaimed more than 20 days after publication of the notice, the landowner may immediately dispose of the vehicle or may sign an affidavit of sale to be used as a title document.

F. The landowner of the property upon which the junk vehicle is located is entitled to recover from the vehicle’s registered owner any costs incurred in the removal of the junk vehicle.

G. 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. 1687 § 1, 1997).