Columbia Defenses ordinance (§ 11-265)
Chapter 11: Health and Sanitation · Article VII. Nuisances
In short: You have three defenses against nuisance charges. You can show you had no legal right to control the location. For an unlicensed vehicle, you can show it was licensed within the prior ninety (90) days, or that it is used for racing or for display at automobile shows.
Our plain-English summary, not the official text or legal advice. The ordinance below is what counts.
(a) It is an affirmative defense to a charge of permitting, maintaining or allowing the creation or maintenance of a nuisance in violation of this division that the defendant did not have the legal right to control the location where the alleged violation occurred.
(b) In any prosecution or abatement action alleging that an unlicensed vehicle was unlawfully present within the city, it is an affirmative defense that the unlicensed vehicle had been licensed within ninety (90) days prior to the alleged violation.
(c) In any prosecution or abatement action alleging that an unlicensed vehicle was unlawfully present within the city, it is an affirmative defense that the unlicensed vehicle is used for racing or for display at automobile shows.
Official source: City of Columbia official Code of Ordinances (online): look up Sec. 11-265
Text from Supplement 139 (September 3, 2026).
Last checked November 1, 2026. The city's official copy controls; this page is a reading copy, not legal advice.