Abandoned Vehicle Form

Please use the following form to report a vehicle that has been parked on a Tempe city street for over 120 continuous hours.  City Ordinance 19-137.

If you witnessed anyone leaving the vehicle within the last six hours, please call the Tempe Police Department at 480-350-8311.  If you feel the vehicle is possibly stolen, please contact the Police Department by phone.

If the vehicle is parked on private property, you must contact the property owner to remove the vehicle.   City code Chapter 32-6 covers towing from private property.

You do not need to leave your personal information, but it is helpful for the responding unit.  There are times when clarification is needed and it helpful to contact the reporting party.
Your Name:
Your Address:
Your Phone Number:
Your Email Address:
Tempe location where vehicle is located:
Make of Vehicle:
Model of Vehicle:
Color of Vehicle:
Year (approximate) of Vehicle:
License Plate of Vehicle:
License State of Vehicle:

How long has the vehicle been parked without moving?

Who does the vehicle belong to?

If you saw who left the vehicle - please describe the circumstances.

Please leave any further details that the responding unit may need to know.

Sec. 19-137.  Continuous parking on public streets; time limit .

          (a)     No person shall park any vehicle, including a disabled vehicle, upon any public street or right-of-way for a continuous period longer than one hundred twenty (120) consecutive hours.

          (b)     Each twenty-four (24) hour period during which a vehicle is parked in violation of this section shall constitute a distinct and separate offense.

          (c)     The police department may cause a vehicle parked in violation of this section to be removed from the public street or right-of-way after notifying the owner or operator thereof by posting a forty-eight-hour notice of removal upon the vehicle.  The owner of a vehicle in violation of this section shall pay all costs incurred in removing said vehicle.

          (d)     Section 19-134 of this article, requiring signs to be posted, shall not apply to this section. 

(Ord. No. 86.45, 7-10-86 )

Go to top of page

Sec. 32-6.  Notice to public of right to tow .

          (a)     The owner or person in possession of any private parking area shall be deemed to have given consent to unrestricted parking by the general public in such parking area unless such parking area is posted with signs as prescribed by this section which are clearly visible and readable from any point within the parking area and at each entrance thereto.  The owner of a subdivision or area containing private streets may prohibit parking on one or both sides of the street if signs as prescribed by this section are posted at each entrance to the subdivision or area and near every intersecting street at a location where the sign is visible and readable upon entry to any such street from the intersecting street.  Such signs shall contain, at a minimum, the following information:  

                  (1)     Restrictions on parking;

                 (2)     Disposition of vehicles found in violation of parking restrictions;

                  (3)     Maximum cost to the violator, including storage fees and any other charges that could result from the disposition of his vehicle parked in violation of parking restrictions;

                 (4)     Telephone number and address where the violator can locate his vehicle;                                                                           and

                 (5)     Each sign shall state, "Tempe City Code, Section 32-6."

          (b)     No private towing carrier shall tow a vehicle from a private parking area unless the signs are posted as required by this section, and contain all the information specified in subsection (a).  Nor shall such carrier charge fees in excess of the amounts specified on the signs.

          (c)     This section shall not apply to any vehicle left in a private parking area for over forty-eight (48) consecutive hours.  The owner or person in possession of any private parking area in which a vehicle has been left for over forty-eight (48) consecutive hours shall comply with all the other provisions of this chapter before towing such vehicle.

(Code 1967, § 33A-6; Ord. No. 992.3, 3-28-85)