Columbia Disposition of wrecked or discarded vehicles on private property ordinance (§ 14-550)
Chapter 14: Motor Vehicles and Traffic · Article IX. Abandoned Vehicles
In short: Property owners, tenants and others in control of property may not let a partially dismantled, nonoperating, wrecked, junked or discarded vehicle stay there longer than 72 hours. Exceptions: vehicles in enclosed buildings, vehicles necessary to a lawful business, and vehicles in a lawful city storage place.
Our plain-English summary, not the official text or legal advice. The ordinance below is what counts.
No person in charge or control of any property within the city, whether as owner, tenant, occupant, lessee, or otherwise, shall allow any partially dismantled, nonoperating, wrecked, junked or discarded vehicle to remain on such property longer than seventy-two (72) hours; and no person shall leave any such vehicle on any property within the city for a longer time than seventy-two (72) hours; except that this section shall not apply with regard to a
vehicle in an enclosed building; a vehicle on the premises of a business enterprise operated in a lawful place and manner, when necessary to the operation of such business enterprise; or a vehicle in an appropriate storage place or depository maintained in a lawful place and manner by the city.
Official source: City of Columbia official Code of Ordinances (online): look up Sec. 14-550
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.