[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Supervisors of Mount Pleasant Township 9-12-1966
by Ord. No. 12; amended in its entirety at time of adoption
of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I). Subsequent amendments noted
where applicable.]
This chapter shall be known and may be cited as "Mount Pleasant Township
Junkyard and Junk Ordinance."
Unless otherwise expressly stated, the following words and phrases shall
be construed throughout this chapter to have the meanings herein indicated:
A vehicle that meets any one of the following criteria:
Is inoperable and is left unattended on public property for more than
48 hours; or
Has remained illegally parked on public property for a period of more
than 48 hours; or
Is without a valid registration plate or a certificate of inspection
or title and is left unattended on or along the street, highway, etc.
Vehicle and equipment used or to be used in construction or in the operation
or maintenance of public utility facilities, which are left in a manner which
does not interfere with the normal movement of traffic, shall not be considered
to be abandoned.
The Board of Supervisors of Mount Pleasant Township.
Any discarded material or article which shall include but not be
limited to scrap metal, scrapped, abandoned or junked motor vehicles, machinery,
equipment, paper, glass, containers and structures. It shall not include,
however, refuse or garbage kept in a proper container for the purpose of prompt
disposal. One engaged primarily in the sale of used car parts and used cars
not in a condition to be driven on highways shall be classified under this
chapter as a junk dealer.
Any person, as hereinafter defined, who shall engage in the business
of selling, buying, salvaging and dealing in junk, and who maintains and operates
a junkyard within Mount Pleasant Township.
Any motor vehicle not contained in a building, which is without either
a current inspection certificate or current registration plate; excluding
vehicles utilized in a bona fide farming operation or commercial enterprise.
Any place where any junk as herein defined, is stored, disposed of
or accumulated.
The permit granted to a person who accumulates, stores or disposes
of junk as hereinbefore defined.
Any partnership, association, firm or corporation.
Mount Pleasant Township, Washington County, Pennsylvania.
No person shall engage in business as a junk dealer or maintain a junkyard
without first having obtained a license from the Board, for which license
a fee in accordance with the schedule hereinafter set forth shall be paid
to the Township for the use of the Township. The license shall be issued for
the twelve-month period beginning January 1 and ending December 31 of the
calendar year, and each license must be renewed annually on or before January
31 of each year.
The license provided for in this chapter shall be issued by the Board
after written application shall have been made therefor by the person desiring
to be licensed. Such license shall state the name of the person to whom such
license is issued and the premises on which such business is to be conducted
or such junkyard is to be maintained. Such license shall be posted conspicuously
upon the premises licensed thereunder. The written application
for license hereinabove mentioned shall be accompanied by a form, every question
of which must be answered, which form will be supplied by the Board. The applicant
shall also submit therewith a plot of the premises used or to be used in connection
with such license.
Upon receipt of an application by the Board, the Board shall issue a
license or shall refuse to issue a license to the person applying therefor
after an examination of the application to determine whether the application
meets the requirements as set forth in this chapter.
A.
The license fee shall be paid immediately upon the issuance
or renewal of a license. The amount of the license fee shall be as set forth
from time to time by resolution of the Board of Supervisors.
B.
No license shall be issued for the use of a tract of
land in excess of 20 acres, excluding setback areas.
No person licensed under this chapter shall, by virtue of one license,
keep more than one place of business within the Township or maintain more
than one junkyard, for the purpose of buying, selling and dealing in junk.
No person shall engage in business as a junk dealer in any place other than
the place designated upon his or her license or maintain a junkyard in any
place other than the place designed upon his or her license.
No license issued by the Board shall be transferable by the licensee to any other person unless such a transfer is authorized by the Board. Any person desiring to transfer his or her license shall notify the Board in writing, which notification shall be accompanied by an application for a license, as described in § 125-4 of this chapter, by the transferee.
In the event the Board shall approve the transfer of a license, the
transferee shall immediately pay to the Township a transfer fee in an amount
set forth from time to time by resolution of the Board of Supervisors.
Every person licensed under this chapter shall at all times keep and
maintain upon the licensed premises a book in which shall be written in English
a record of all motor vehicles purchased, received or handled by said licensee,
and such record book shall at all times be available for inspection by any
official of Mount Pleasant Township or the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
Every person licensed under this chapter shall keep and maintain upon
the licensed premises, for a period of 48 hours after the purchase or receipt
thereof, all junk or used motor vehicles received or purchased by such licensee,
and he or she shall not disturb or reduce the same or alter the original form,
shape or condition thereof until such period of 48 hours shall have elapsed.
Every person licensed under this chapter shall constantly maintain the
licensed premises in accordance with any special provisions imposed by the
Board and in the manner prescribed by this section and any subsequent regulations
adopted by the Board.
A.
The premises shall at all times be maintained so as not
to constitute a nuisance or a menace to the health of the community or of
residents nearby or a place for the breeding of rodents and vermin.
B.
No garbage or other offensive or unhealthful organic
waste shall be stored in such premises.
C.
Whenever any motor vehicle shall be received at such
premises as junk, all gasoline shall be drained and removed therefrom, and
such gasoline shall be stored as directed by the Pennsylvania State Police.
D.
The manner of storage and arrangement of junk and used
cars and the drainage facilities of the premises shall be such as to prevent
the accumulation of stagnant water upon the premises and to facilitate access
for fire-fighting purposes.
E.
All junk and used cars kept, stored or arranged on the licensed premises shall at all times be kept, stored and arranged with the junkyard as described in the application for license hereunder, and as limited under Subsection D above.
G.
The premises to be licensed shall be set back a minimum
distance of 50 feet from the right-of-way lines on all streets or roads. The
premises to be licensed shall be set back 75 feet from all other property
lines unless written permission of the owner of the adjacent property is secured
and filed with the Supervisors, permitting use nearer the property line than
75 feet. The area between the setback line and the right-of-way line of all
streets and roads and between the setback line and all other property lines
shall be at all times kept clear and vacant and planted with suitable ground
cover vegetation.
H.
The licensed premises shall be enclosed by a fence, at
the setback line, at least eight feet in height and not more than six inches
from the surface of the ground. Such fence shall be of a solid, non-see-through,
type. Evergreens may be planted to provide additional screening of the licensed
premises but shall not be used in lieu of a fence.
Any person who violates or permits a violation of this chapter shall,
upon being found liable therefor in a civil enforcement proceeding commenced
by the Township before a Magisterial District Judge, pay a fine of not more
than $600, plus all court costs, including reasonable attorney's fees, incurred
by the Township in the enforcement of this chapter. No judgment shall be imposed
until the date of the determination of the violation by the Magisterial District
Judge. If the defendant neither pays nor timely appeals the judgment, the
Township may enforce the judgment pursuant to the applicable Rules of Civil
Procedure. Each day a violation exists shall constitute a separate offense.
Further, the appropriate officers or agents of the Township are hereby authorized
to seek equitable relief, including injunction, to enforce compliance herewith.
In addition to the remedies provided in § 125-13 above, any continued violations of this chapter which shall constitute a nuisance in fact or which shall in the opinion of the Board, constitute a nuisance, may be abated by proceedings against the violator in a court of equity for relief.
