Chapter 51: Junk And Junk Vehicles

§ 51.01 Definitions

The text in force on August 11, 2010, and every version since 2010.

Unofficial compilation built from the City's published 2010 Code chapters and the text of adopted ordinances. Effective dates are inferred from adoption records; scanned chapters were OCR'd. The City of Tiffin's adopted Code of Ordinances governs. Not legal advice.

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51.01 DEFINITIONS

For use in this chapter, the following terms are defined:

1. “Junk” means all old or scrap copper, brass, lead, or any other non-ferrous metal; old or discarded rope, rags, batteries, paper, trash, rubber, debris, waste or used lumber, or salvaged wood; dismantled vehicles, machinery and appliances or parts of such vehicles, machinery or appliances; iron, steel or other old or scrap ferrous materials; old or discarded glass, tinware, plastic or old or discarded household goods or hardware. Neatly stacked firewood located on a side yard or a rear yard is not considered junk.

2. “Junk vehicle” means any vehicle legally placed in storage with the County Treasurer or unlicensed and which has any of the following characteristics:

A. Broken Glass. Any vehicle with a broken or cracked windshield, window, headlight or tail light, or any other cracked or broken glass.

B. Broken, Loose, or Missing Part. Any vehicle with a broken, loose, or missing fender, door, bumper, hood, steering wheel or trunk lid.

C. Habitat for Nuisance Animals or Insects. Any vehicle which has become the habitat for rats, mice, snakes, or any other vermin or insects.

D. Flammable Fuel. Any vehicle which contains gasoline or any other flammable fuel.

E. Inoperable. Any motor vehicle which lacks an engine or two or more wheels or other structural parts, rendering said motor vehicle totally inoperable, or which cannot be moved under its own power or has not been used as an operating vehicle for a period of thirty (30) days or more.

F. Defective or Obsolete Condition. Any other vehicle which, because of its defective or obsolete condition, in any other way constitutes a threat to the public health and safety. Mere licensing of such vehicle shall not constitute a defense to the finding that the vehicle is a junk vehicle.

3. “Vehicle” means every device in, upon, or by which a person or property is or may be transported or drawn upon a highway or street, except devices moved by human power or used exclusively upon stationary rails or tracks, and includes without limitation a motor vehicle, automobile, truck, motorcycle, tractor, buggy, wagon, farm machinery, or any combination thereof.

2010 Code (city website file), in force from August 11, 2010 · source page

Confirmed by the city's current text: the 2026 draft recodification (August 2026, not adopted) has the same words (§ 51.01, p. 121), apart from minor wording.

In the 2026 draft (a comparison with a draft, not adopted): § 51.01 — wording changed, minor wording · compare

History

FromToSourceHowDocument
Aug 11, 2010today 2010 Code base text · text p. 1

Dates: an Iowa ordinance takes effect when it is published after adoption. Where the clerk's certificate records the publication date it is used; otherwise the adoption date stands in for it. "Not yet consolidated" means the ordinance amends this section but its new text has not been checked into this compilation yet: read the ordinance.

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Data last updated October 22, 2026. Built from the archive's documents; see how the data is built.