[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Committee of the Township of Washington
6-10-1953. Amendments noted where applicable.]
From and after the passage of this chapter, it shall be unlawful for
any person, firm or corporation to maintain, operate or conduct a junk shop
or junkyard, in or upon which junk, as hereinafter described, shall be purchased,
sold, stored, repaired, renovated or restored, within the Township of Washington,
without first having obtained a license for such purpose as hereinafter provided.
For the purpose of this chapter, the following words shall have the
meanings indicated:
Includes rags, scrap iron, shavings, borings, old rope, old iron,
brass, copper, tin, lead and other old materials, unregistered automobiles
which are unfit for reconditioning for sale for highway transportation, used
parts of motor vehicles, old bottles, glass, lumber, paper, discarded machinery,
or parts thereof, and any other secondhand articles or used materials and
merchandise and such other articles or things as commonly come within the
classification of "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
state:
A.
The name and residence of the applicant and, if a firm
or association, the names and addresses of the officers and the registered
agent or partners.
B.
The detailed nature of the business to be conducted and
the classes of material which it is proposed to store therein, the premises
at which it is proposed to establish the business, including a full description
of such premises, and whether the applicant owns the premises or leases them.
Each application shall contain agreement that 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 of the Township of Washington.
Any license issued pursuant to this chapter may be revoked or suspended for
cause by the Township Committee of the Township of Washington.
The Township Committee of the Township of Washington may restrict the
number of such licensed premises within the township and may impose such reasonable
regulations and rules, with regard to said business so to be conducted, not
contrary to law, as the Township Committee of the Township of Washington 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 law.
If the applicant is not the owner of the site where the business is
to be conducted, the owner's consent to the conduct of said business shall
be endorsed on said application.
The license shall authorize the licensee to conduct said business at
the place specified in the license and shall not be transferable to another
location nor assignable or transferable in any manner.
Before any application for a license to conduct said business shall
be accepted by the Township Clerk, there shall be presented to him at the
time of the making of said application a paid tax bill by the Tax Collector
of the Township of Washington indicating that said applicant has paid all
personal property taxes due from such applicant for the chattels on the licensed
premises for the year preceding the year for which the new license is sought.
The Township Committee of the Township of Washington 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.
[Amended 11-8-1978]
All persons, firms or corporations, receiving such license or licenses
shall pay to the Township of Washington an annual fee of $75 for each license
issued.
Every person, firm, partnership or corporation to whom such license
may be issued shall, when engaging in business within the Township of Washington,
be in possession of such license and is hereby required to have such license
on exhibition at all times.
The property upon which said business shall be conducted shall be enclosed
by a hedge or fence not less than six feet high nor more than eight feet high.
Said hedge shall be kept in a trimmed and neat condition at all times. Where
said property is either entirely or partly bounded by a natural barrier, such
as a high bank, the Township Committee may waive the erection of a hedge as
to that part of the property bounded by said natural barrier. This section
shall not preclude the erection of a different type of enclosure, such as
a brick or stone wall or a wooden or cyclone fence, but this cannot be done
without the consent of the Township Committee of the Township of Washington.
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 are alleged or specified to have been stolen or lost
shall forthwith, upon demand to view the same, present the same to the Chief
of Police or any other officer or representative of the township.
All goods, articles, merchandise or motor vehicles must be stored and
kept within the enclosed fence above described and not upon the sidewalk or
street or any part thereof.
No licensee or his agent shall knowingly buy, sell, receive, dispose
of, conceal or have in his possession any motor vehicle from which the manufacturer's
serial number or any other number of identification mark has been removed,
defaced, altered, covered or destroyed for the purpose of concealing the identity
of such vehicle.
[Amended 11-8-1978]
A licensee may burn junk upon the licensed premises, provided that such
burning is in full compliance with applicable municipal, state and federal
regulations pertaining to fire prevention and air pollution control, and provided
that such licensee uses a high degree of care and does not create a nuisance
in the neighborhood of the junkyard.
It shall be unlawful for any licensee to stack, pile or place any of
the aforesaid secondhand materials 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.
Any member of the Township Committee of the Township of Washington,
the 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.
It shall be unlawful for persons to deposit or leave any abandoned or
unlicensed automobile, truck or other automotive equipment, or any part thereof,
or other junk in open fields or upon other unfenced private property without
first obtaining the permission of the Commissioner of Public Safety and of
the owner of such private property.
A.
Any person, firm or corporation who shall violate a provision
of this chapter or fail to comply therewith, or who shall violate or fail
to comply with any order or regulation made thereunder, shall severally for
each and every such violation and noncompliance forfeit and pay a penalty
not to exceed the sum of $500 or be imprisoned in the Warren County Jail for
a period of not more than 90 days, or both.
[Amended 11-8-1978]
B.
The imposition of a penalty for a violation of this chapter
shall not excuse the violation or permit it to continue. Such violation shall
be remedied within a reasonable time, and each 10 days that such violation
is permitted to exist shall constitute a separate offense. The application
of the above penalty shall not be held to prevent the enforced removal of
prohibited conditions.
