People who have one or more cars rusting away in their yard might have reason to be concerned as Island County is in the early stages of developing an “inoperable vehicle ordinance.”

County planning staff are drafting a proposal that would prohibit inoperable cars from being stored in public view on private property.

County officials say they need the ordinance to deal with complaints that residents have made concerning broken-down cars.

Jeff Tate, assistant director for the Island County Planning Department, said his office receives complaints stating that junked cars are an eyesore and affect property values.

In the past, the county has used its junkyard zoning as a reason to have inoperable cars removed from private property. However, Matt Kukuk, an enforcement officer for the planning department, said he has had trouble applying such a designation to private homes because there may be only a few abandoned cars at a particular address.

“It’s hard to consider that a junkyard,” Kukuk said.

Tate said many homeowners typically aren’t storing junked cars for any commercial purposes.

In the past, junk car complaints have been passed on to the Island County Health Department or the sheriff’s office to determine if there are solid waste violations or public safety hazards that could facilitate vehicle removal.

County officials hope the new ordinance will clarify what constitutes a junked car and will help enforcement officers deal with complaints about cars.

The county is considering basing its ordinance on those enacted in recent years by several cities.

According to the Everett Municipal Code, a junked car is at least three years old, shows some kind of extensive damage such as missing wheels or broken windows, is apparently inoperable and has only scrap or salvage value.

Everett’s code does allow for junked cars to be stored inside or at a fenced-in junkyard.

People violating Everett’s junked car code are subject to fines and be required to pay the cost of the removal of the vehicle.

Bellevue’s ordinance is similar to Everett’s but also takes into account the last time a vehicle was licensed.

Kukuk said he is still researching inoperable vehicle codes and hasn’t started writing the proposed ordinance.

Tate said he hopes the ordinance will be written and ready for a public hearing by the end of the year.