[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Council of the Township of Lower
12-10-1975 as Sec. 4-4 of the 1975 Code. Amendments noted where applicable.]
After May 11, 1953, it shall be unlawful for any person 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 without first such purpose, as hereinafter provided.
As used in this chapter, the following terms 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 desiring to obtain a license as herein required shall file
with the Township Clerk a written application signed by the applicant, which
application shall state:
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 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 the 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. Any license issued pursuant
to this chapter may be revoked or suspended for cause by the Township Committee.
The Township Committee may restrict the number of such licensed premises
within the Township and may impose such reasonable regulations and rules with
regard to the business so to be conducted 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 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 the business shall
be endorsed on the application.
The license shall authorize the licensee to conduct the 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 the business shall be
accepted by the Township Clerk, there shall be presented to him at the time
of the making of the application a paid tax bill by the Tax Collector of the
Township indicating that the 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 Council shall issue all licenses under this chapter; and
they shall be good and valid from the date of issue until December 31 next,
after granting the same.
[Amended by Ord. No. 83-8; Ord. No. 92-5]
All persons, firms, or corporations receiving such license or licenses shall pay to the Township of Lower an annual fee of $150 for each license issued. Said fee shall be due on the first of August of each calendar year. In addition, if the annual fee is not paid to the Township by the first of September, there shall be a late charge of $15 in addition to the annual fee. In addition, licensees must comply with the provisions of Chapter 413, Article I, Payment of Taxes Required Prior to Issuance, which requires the real estate taxes on licensed property to be current before issuance of said license.
Every person to whom such license may be issued shall, when engaging
in business within the Township, be in possession of such license and is hereby
required to have such license on exhibition at all times.
The property upon which the business shall be conducted shall be enclosed
by a hedge not less than six feet high nor more than eight feet high. The
hedge shall be kept in a trimmed and neat condition at all times. A period
of five years shall be allowed for the hedge to reach the minimum height herein
set forth. Where the property is either entirely or partly bounded by a natural
barrier, such as a high bank, the Committee may waive the erection of a hedge
as to that part of the property bounded by the natural barrier. This section
shall not preclude the erection of a different type of enclosure, such as
a brick or stone wall, wooden fence or cyclone fence, but this cannot be done
without the consent of the Township Council.
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 chief
law enforcing officer or any other officer or representative of the Township.
All goods, articles, merchandise, or motor vehicles shall be stored
and kept within the enclosed fence above described and not upon the sidewalk,
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.
A licensee may burn junk upon the licensed premises, provided he 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 place for the harboring or breeding of rats, mice, or vermin.
Any member of the Township Council, Board of Health, Health Officer,
chief law enforcing officer, or police officers or any authorized agent of
the Township shall have the right at any and at 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 Township Council and of the owner of
such private property.
[Added by Ord. No. 92-5]
Any member of the Lower Township Police Department and the Township
Code Enforcement Officer or any other Township official that Council may designate
by amendment to this chapter are hereby empowered to enforce the provisions
of this chapter.
