[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Committee of the Township of East
Amwell 2-8-1996 by Ord. No. 96-02. Amendments noted where applicable.]
It shall be unlawful for any person, firm, association, partnership, or corporation to maintain, operate, or conduct a junkyard in the Township of East Amwell, without first having obtained a license for such purpose, as hereinafter provided. No provision of this chapter shall be construed to permit a junkyard to be established or maintained in any place or manner prohibited by Chapter 92, Land Management.
For the purpose of this chapter, the following definitions are hereby
established:
Includes rags, old or scrap iron and other metal, shavings, borings,
rope, glass, lumber, paper, rubber, or other old or scrap material, unregistered
vehicles which are unfit for reconditioning for highway transportation, used
parts of vehicles, discarded machinery, or parts thereof, and any other secondhand
articles or used materials and merchandise and such articles or things which
commonly come within the classification of junk, but not including any toxic
or hazardous materials regulated under any federal or state law.
An establishment or place of business (either indoors or outdoors)
which is maintained, used or operated for storing, keeping, buying, or selling
junk.
Any person, firm, association, partnership, or corporation, desiring
to obtain a license as herein required, shall file with the Township Clerk
a written application signed by the applicant or applicants, which application
shall include the following information:
A.
The name and residence of the applicant, and if a firm,
association, partnership, or corporation, the name and address of the officers
and the registered agent or partners.
B.
The detailed nature of the business to be conducted,
and the classes of junk material which it are proposed to be stored or dealt
with therein, the premises at which it is proposed to conduct the junkyard,
including a full description of such premises, and whether the applicant owns
the premises or leases them. If the applicant does not own the premises, a
copy of the lease shall be furnished, and the written consent of the owners
of the premises to the application shall be furnished.
C.
An accurate plot plan of the premises to be licensed,
showing the location of all structures, fences, drives and passageways and
junk storage areas (showing the types of junk to be stored in each area).
D.
An environmental assessment and impact report containing
an inventory of at least the following on-site environmental conditions and
an assessment of the probable impact of the operation of the junkyard upon
them: surface and subsurface hydrogeology; wetlands; soils; topography; presence
of rare, threatened or endangered species; noise characteristics and levels;
any air pollution; any particular past or present use that might have involved
toxic or hazardous materials.
E.
A listing of all approvals, licenses and permits required
from any body or agency of the federal, state, or county government required
for the operation of the junkyard, as well as a description of the status
of such (including a description of any denials of such) and a copy of all
such issued and in force.
F.
A description of any enforcement proceedings undertaken
within the last 10 years by any governmental body or agency with regard to
the junkyard proposed to be licensed or against the applicant with regard
to a junkyard or similar establishment at any other location. Such information
shall include a statement as to whether such proceedings are in progress or
have concluded and whether the applicant, or the junkyard for which the license
is sought, are in compliance with all orders or judgments involved in such
proceedings.
G.
The names and addresses of the party or parties responsible
for cleaning up, or rectifying, any environmental hazard created in the operation
of the junkyard proposed to be licensed.
H.
The license fee required by this chapter.
I.
A certification from the Tax Collector of this township
that all real property taxes assessed to the property proposed to be licensed,
owing and due as of the date the application is presented, have been paid.
Each application shall contain the agreement that the applicant (and
owner of the licensed premises, if not the applicant) accepts the license
to be granted upon condition that it may be suspended or revoked for cause,
at any time, by the Township Committee. Any license issued pursuant to this
chapter may be revoked or suspended for cause by the Township Committee. The
noncompliance of any condition shall be deemed cause for revocation or suspension
of a license.
A.
Prior to the issuance of any junkyard license, and after
the filing of a completed application as described by this chapter, a physical
inspection of the premises proposed to be licensed shall be made by authorized
agents of the township, who may include a Health Officer, police official,
fire inspection official, Township Engineer, member of the Board of Health
or Township Committee.
B.
The Township Committee shall issue all licenses under
this chapter, and they shall be good and valid from the date of issue until
the 31st day of December, next, after granting the same.
C.
The license shall authorize the licensee to conduct the
said junkyard at the place specified in the license, and shall not be transferable
to another location, nor assignable or transferable in any manner.
D.
The license shall not be deemed to permit any activity or operation which is licensed, regulated, restricted or prohibited by federal, state or county law (including, but not limited to, any law regarding solid waste management or toxic or hazardous materials). No junkyard license shall issue, nor shall any junkyard be maintained, in any manner or at any place which is in violation of Chapter 92, Land Management.
[Amended 3-14-1996 by Ord.
No. 96-06]
The applicant for the junkyard license shall pay to the township with
the application for the license an annual fee of $480 for each license issued,
prorated monthly where the license should not be issued on January 1.
Every person, firm, association, partnership or corporation to whom
such license may be issued shall, when conducting a junkyard within the township,
be in possession of such license, and is hereby required to have such license
on exhibition at all times.
All junkyards shall comply with the following conditions, which shall
be conditions of the issuance of the license:
A.
The property upon which the junkyard is conducted shall
be enclosed by a sound board fence eight feet high from the ground; the posts
shall not be more than 10 feet apart, with three nailing ties of two inches
by four inches minimum. The junkyard and its enclosing fence shall be at least
50 feet from the road and at least 50 feet from any boundary of the property
which is not along a road. Such enclosure shall be painted and maintained
in good condition at all times, and shall be kept painted at all times. There
shall be no advertisement of any description on said fence, except the junkyard
operator's name and description of the character of the business.
B.
All junk and other articles (including but not limited
to any abandoned or unlicensed vehicles or parts thereof) must be stored and
kept within the enclosed fence above described, and not on or along the road
or otherwise outside the fence. No junk or other articles shall be piled as
to protrude above the height of said fence.
C.
No junk or other goods, vehicles or articles shall be
stacked, piled or placed upon the licensed premises in such a manner as to
create a fire hazard, or to create a place for the harboring or breeding of
rats, mice, or vermin.
D.
No junk or other goods, vehicles, or articles shall be
burned upon the licensed premises; provided, however, that this shall not
prohibit the use of acetylene torches in reconditioning or salvaging any such
junk, or other goods, vehicles or articles.
E.
All operations and activities of any junkyard shall be
in compliance with all federal, state and county laws, and the terms of any
enforcement order or judgment pertaining to the junkyard.
F.
Any member of the Township Committee, Board of Health,
the Health Officer, the Chief of Police, or any authorized agent of the township
shall have the right at any and all reasonable times to inspect any or all
parts of the licensed premises.
The Township Committee may impose such additional reasonable regulations
and rules with regard to the operation of a junkyard not contrary to law,
as the Township Committee may deem necessary and proper for the preservation
of public health, safety, and welfare of the township and its inhabitants,
and as may be necessary to carry into effect the powers and duties conferred
and imposed upon the township by this chapter or otherwise by law.
Any licensee, or the person in charge of any licensed premises, who
shall receive or be in possession of any goods, articles or things which may
have been stolen or lost, or alleged or specified to have been stolen or lost,
shall forthwith, upon demand to view the same, present the same to the State
Police or any other officer or representative of the township.
No licensee or his agent shall knowingly buy, sell, receive, dispose
of, conceal or have in his possession any motor vehicles from which the manufacturer's
serial number or any other number or identification mark has been removed,
defaced, altered, covered or destroyed, for the purpose of concealing the
identify of such vehicles.
Any person, firm or corporation violating any provisions of this chapter
shall, upon conviction thereof, be subject to one or more of the following:
a fine not to exceed $1,000, a term of imprisonment of not to exceed 90 days,
or a period of community service not to exceed 90 days. Each day any such
violation continues shall be deemed a separate offense and not a continuing
offense.
