In Northfield County, MI, there is a field covered in parked cars. A miniature second-coming of the Woodstock Music Festival? Nope. It’s the home of 74-year-old Ron Dauzet’s 200+ junk cars. Alas, a township ordinance bans the storage of unregistered motor vehicles outdoors. Dauzet has been forced to sell off his collection. Could he have rented some large garages and kept his car collection intact? Maybe. Could you do the same for your junk car collection? Sure. But a collection like this is worth plenty for the owner who wants to turn their junk cars into cash.
Are Your Junk Cars a Health Hazard?
A car enthusiast who has been buying cars of all makes and models since he was age 21, Dauzet is now faced with an incredibly stressful challenge: He must sell off 20 cars per month per township decree. Dauzet has been struggling seven days a week to keep up with the required quota, trying to sell nearly one car per day to avoid violating the township ordinance that protects against blight and other environmental issues.
Unlicensed cars may not be stored outdoors, even if they’re housed out of sight and on your own property, like Dauzet’s are. And the fact that car enthusiast Dauzet has an eclectic collection of mostly European cars that others might find valuable doesn’t matter. His Michigan township wants to protect the community from an area that is in danger of becoming “overgrown with weeds, littered with rubbish, and infested with rodents and insects.” Threats of endangerment, spread of disease, fire hazards, and other safety issues interfere with public health.