[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Wales 5-11-1993 by L.L. No. 1-1993. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Unsafe buildings — See Ch. 86.
Recycling — See Ch. 166.
Zoning — See Ch. 200.
The purpose of this chapter is to regulate and prohibit the use of lands within the Town of Wales as a dump or dumping ground, to promote the health, safety, morals and general welfare of the community, including the protection and preservation of the property of the Town and its inhabitants, and to secure safety from fire and other dangers and to license and regulate persons operating public dumps within such Town and junk dealers.
It shall be unlawful for any person, firm or corporation to expose for sale or exchange or to give away or store upon any vacant land or within any temporary enclosure any used or secondhand articles or machinery, equipment, truck or automobile accessory or any secondhand machinery of any kind or description incapable of its intended use or to dump any garbage or waste materials upon any land within the Town without having first obtained a license to do so, duly issued by the Town Clerk with the approval of the Town Board. Licenses may be issued only for those areas designed by Chapter 200, Zoning.
No person shall, within the Town of Wales deposit, place, store or abandon on any real property or permit, cause or consent to be deposited, placed, stored or abandoned on real property owned or occupied as a tenant by such person a junk vehicle for a period of longer than 30 days after receipt by such person of the notice prescribed by § 120-20 unless such vehicle is completely enclosed in a garage or other similar structure. This section shall not apply to the storage, placement, deposit or abandonment of junk vehicles in junkyards, as defined in and duly operating in accordance with the provisions of this chapter and Chapter 200, Zoning, of the Code of the Town of Wales.
The storage of a single motor vehicle will be permitted in accordance with the following conditions:
A. 
All vehicles must be operative.
B. 
The vehicles must be stored upon the subject premises in an area which will have the least effect upon the subject premises or adjoining properties.
C. 
Vehicles must qualify under one of the following:
(1) 
The vehicle is used exclusively for snow removal.
(2) 
There is an approved and current vehicle inspection.
(3) 
The vehicle is an acceptable use compatible with the area. Such use must be approved by the Zoning Enforcement Officer. Within six months of receipt of notice of intended use, the owner shall demonstrate to the Zoning Enforcement Officer the actual, acceptable and intended use of the motor vehicle.
No person shall, within the Town of Wales, deposit, store, accumulate or abandon upon any real property, nor cause, consent or permit to be deposited, stored, accumulated or abandoned upon any real property owned or occupied as a tenant by such person, outside of an enclosed structure or a securely covered garbage or trash container any junk, rubbish, garbage, litter, refuse or waste matter or material of any kind or parts and components of vehicles for a period longer than five days after receipt by such person of the notice prescribed by this chapter.
A. 
The use of the term "person" throughout this chapter shall be interpreted to include an individual, association, partnership or corporation.
B. 
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
AUTOMOTIVE JUNKYARD
Any place of storage or deposit, whether in connection with another business or not, where two or more unregistered, old or secondhand motor vehicles no longer intended or in condition for legal use on public highways are held, whether for the purpose of resale of used parts therefrom, for the purpose of resale of used parts therefrom, for the purpose of reclaiming for use some or all of the materials therein, whether metal, glass, fabric or otherwise, for the purpose of disposing of the same or for any other purpose; such term shall include any place of storage or deposit for any such purposes of used parts or waste materials from motor vehicles which, taken together, equal in bulk two or more such vehicles; provided, however, that the term "automotive junkyard" shall not be construed to mean an establishment having facilities for processing iron, steel or nonferrous scrap an whose principal product is scrap iron, steel or nonferrous scrap for sale for remelting purposes only.
JUNKYARD
An area of land, with or without buildings, used for or occupied by the storage, keeping or abandonment of junk, including scrap metals or other metals or used or salvaged building materials or for the dismantling, demolition or abandonment of automobiles or other vehicles or machinery or parts thereof. If does not include pawnshops and establishments for sale, purchase or storage of used furniture, household equipment and clothing, emporiums or establishments for the sale, purchase or storage of used motor vehicles or salvage machinery to be used for the purpose for which it was originally manufactured.
TEMPORARY ENCLOSURE
Any structure or building in which there is installed no means for adequate heat of the interior in cold weather, either in whole or in part, or which has no roof or which has a roof and an open side or sides or which has no covering of a permanent nature for the openings in the same.
VACANT LAND
Land not actually occupied by buildings.
This chapter is not intended to apply to fruit stands selling vegetables, flowers or farm products of any kind or to stores generally exposing articles for sale in the open air on their own property where the same are taken in at night into an enclosed building or structure, nor to pawnshops or establishments for the sale, purchase or storage of used furniture, antiques, household equipment and clothing or for the processing of used, discarded or salvage materials as part of any manufacturing operation, nor to any single sale of used property at public auction, nor to any person, firm or corporation holding a franchise to sell new automobiles, automobile trucks or equipment who displays used motor vehicles, automobile trucks or machinery, in running order and capable of reuse, on his own premises, nor to dealers who in good faith have established or shall establish a business of manufacturing or buying and selling or an agency for such business for buying and selling new or used or unused motor vehicles who occasionally, as an incident of such business, buy or receive in the course of trade secondhand motor vehicles for sale. This chapter shall, however, include and apply to all such dealers who wreck or junk such secondhand motor vehicles.
A. 
Every person, firm or corporation desiring to obtain a license under this chapter shall file with the Town Clerk a written application, properly subscribed, describing the character of the business in which the applicant desires to engage, the kind of material he desires to deal in and the proper designation by street or number or other accurate description of the place where such business is to be conducted, and shall include a sketch thereof, stating whether or not the applicant is the owner or lessee of the premises to be used or such other and further information as the Town Board may deem appropriate.
B. 
Proof of ownership or lease of premises. With every application for a license, the applicant shall present evidence that he is the owner of the premises upon which he proposes to operate or he shall present a duplicate original of a valid lease of the premises to be used by him and the consent of the lessor or lessors that the premises described in the application shall be used for the purposes for which the license is applied for. The transfer of title from an owner or the termination of the lease or eviction from the premises, for any reason, shall terminate the license.
C. 
Attached to each such application shall be a consent signed by each owner or lessee of the real property within the Town of Wales within 1,000 feet of the boundary of the premises proposed to be used for such purpose. Such consent shall state that such owners and lessees have no objection to the use of such in the manner proposed by the applicant.
D. 
The Town Clerk shall submit such application to the Town Board at its next regular meeting. The Town Board will then refer such application to the Planning Board for its review and recommendations, such said recommendations to be returned, in writing, to the Town Board with 30 days after such referral. If the Planning Board does not respond in 30 days, it is assumed that there is no recommendation.
E. 
The Town Board shall then conduct a public hearing requiring 10 days' written notice of the time and place of such meeting. At such meeting, the applicant and all other interested parties shall be heard.
F. 
The Town Board shall then either grant or deny such license, noting its actions in the minutes. In determining whether an application shall be granted for a license, the Town Board shall take into consideration the practical difficulties and the necessary hardships in requiring compliance with this chapter. Such determination shall be in the sole discretion of said Town Board.
The fee for such license required by this chapter shall be as set forth from time to time by resolution of the Town Board. A copy of such fees is on file with the Town Clerk at the time such license is issued and shall become part of the general funds of the Town of Wales. All licenses shall expire on December 31 of each year.
A. 
Each location shall be licensed separately.
B. 
The license shall be displayed in a conspicuous manner within the licensee's place of business for which it is issued.
C. 
The license is nontransferable, and any person who is a successor in interest must apply for a new license.
D. 
The licensee is responsible for management of all activities or business for which the license is granted. In the event that no license has been issued, the landowner of record must be deemed responsible for all activity and for any failure to comply with the terms of this chapter.
E. 
No business shall be conducted upon licensed premises other than emergency service between the hours of 4:00 p.m. on Saturday to 6:00 a.m. on Monday.
F. 
Licensed premises shall be operated in a proper and safe manner to minimize hazards. No suspended items will be left unattended which would create such a hazard.
G. 
No junk may be disposed of by burning.
This chapter shall apply to any vacant land or temporary structure or the lawful occupancy or use thereof existing at the time this chapter takes effect. Any such person, firm or corporation so using such property shall be required to obtain a license hereunder.
If any person, firm or corporation or their distributees, successors or assigns shall at any time discontinue the business so conducted for a period of one year or more, such business shall not be reestablished, nor shall such existing business be extended beyond the boundary now occupied by it without full compliance with this chapter and any other ordinance in effect at that time.
All licensed premises shall be a minimum of 10 acres.
The licensee must erect and maintain a living fence of approved growth with a minimum height of six feet. The portion of the premises upon which business activity is conducted must be located a minimum of 75 feet distant from the closest edge of the public right-of-way. Between the edge of the public right-of-way and the premises described, the licensee must construct said living fence with approved growth. Said fence shall consist of two rows of approved growth, properly spaced to effectively obscure the activity of the licensee. In addition to said frontal requirements, said applicant shall provide a twenty-five-foot buffer zone on each side between the property line and the closest point of business activity. Such buffer zone shall commence at the side point of the front living fence and shall continue on to the rear of the lot or to a distance of 200 feet, whichever is greater. A single row of approved growth shall separate the buffer zone from the business activity. Those portions of growth contained in the buffer zone in both the front and side shall be properly maintained.
The access road from the public right-of-way to the business activity shall be dust-free. At the point of the front living fence, the right-of-way shall contain a gate made of solid substance, properly maintained, six feet in height, which shall be locked when the area is not supervised by the licensee or his employees. Such entrance right-of-way from the pubic right-of-way shall have a view of approaching traffic sufficiently clear as not to constitute a traffic hazard upon entering or leaving the highway.
Not withstanding the foregoing, any premises used for the purposes mentioned in this chapter, even if so used before the effective date hereof or of any amendments hereto, shall at all times be kept and maintained in a clean, wholesome, sanitary and orderly condition.
A. 
All licenses are subject to revocation by the Town Board upon proper proof of noncompliance with this chapter. A public hearing shall be afforded a licensee, who will have an opportunity to present his case.
B. 
In the event that the license has been convicted by a court of proper jurisdiction of any violation of this chapter, the conviction shall be prima facie evidence as a basis for such revocation. In the event of such conviction, the Town Board shall review the license to determine revocation. In the event that the license is revoked, all activity permitted under this chapter shall immediately cease and desist.
C. 
Surrender of suspended or revoked licenses; failure to comply. Any license suspended shall be deposited with the Town Clerk during the period of suspension. The Town Clerk shall, upon the surrender thereof to him, endorse thereon the date of suspension and shall show the date it becomes effective or operative thereafter. Any license revoked shall be surrendered to the Town Clerk. Neglect or refusal to so deposit and surrender shall be deemed a violation of this chapter. In the event that such deposit or surrender is not made within 20 days after notice of suspension or revocation, the Town Clerk shall make a complaint before a Town Justice against the licensee for the violation.
Where practical difficulties or unnecessary hardships in the way of carrying out the strict letter of this chapter are involved, the Town Board shall have the power of varying and modifying the application of this chapter so that the spirit of this chapter shall be observed public safety and welfare secured and substantial justice done.
Any person, firm or corporation which violates any provision of this chapter shall be guilty of an offense against this chapter and shall be subject to a fine for the first week's continuation of such violation, or any portion of that week, of not more than $250 or to imprisonment for not more than 15 days, or both. In addition thereto, any person, firm or corporation which violates any of the provisions of this chapter or which shall omit, neglect or refuse to do any act required by this chapter shall, severally, for each and every such violation, forfeit and pay a civil penalty not to exceed $100 per day for each day of continued violation in excess of one week. The imposition of penalties for any violation of this chapter shall not excuse the violation or permit it to continue. The application of the above penalty or penalties for any violation of this chapter shall not preclude the closing of the junkyard and the enforced removal of conditions prohibited by this chapter. The expenses of the Town in enforcing the closure and removal of conditions prohibited by this chapter. The expenses of the Town in enforcing the closure and removal of materials from the premises, including legal fees, may be chargeable, in addition to the aforesaid criminal and civil court of appropriate jurisdiction.
A. 
The notice referred to in § 120-3, when sent to the owner of the property, may advise the owner that if the junk vehicles or the litter or waste materials are not removed with said thirty-day (vehicles) or five-day (litter or waste material) period, as the case may be, the Town may proceed with the removal and disposition thereof and shall cause the costs of such removal and disposition to be charged against the premises. The notice may also advise the owner that he/she may be made personally liable for such costs in an action against him/her; collection thereof shall be by the Town.
[Amended 10-11-2011 by L.L. No. 4-2011]
B. 
The notice, when it includes a provision pursuant to Subsection A, shall also advise the owner of the property that he shall be entitled to a hearing before the Town Board on any matter which he wishes to address relating to the existence of junk vehicles or litter or waste materials and the removal thereof if, before the expiration of the thirty-day of five-day period, as the case may be, he requests the same in a writing directed to the Town Building Zoning Officer. If a hearing is requested, it shall be held within 14 days of the date on which the request is received. At the hearing, the Town Board shall advise the owner of the amount of money which it is estimated will be expended by the Town for the removal of the junk vehicle or litter or waste materials and that he will be responsible for the payment of that amount or, in lieu thereof, that it will be assessed against his property and collect at the same time and in the same manner as property taxes which are levied against the property. At the conclusion of the hearing, the Town Board shall, by resolution, determine whether junk vehicles or litter or waste materials are situate on the property of the owner and whether removal thereof by the Town should proceed and the cost thereof be collected from the owner of the property or charged against the property.
C. 
The owner shall have seven days from the date of the hearing, or the date on which he receives a copy of the resolution if a determination is not made on the date of the hearing, in which to remove the junk vehicle(s) or the litter or waste materials. In default thereof, the Town shall be entitled to go upon the property and, utilizing either Town personnel or independent contractors, remove and dispose of the same.
D. 
The cost of the removal and disposition of the junk vehicle(s) or the litter or waste may be collected from the owner of the property in a civil action therefor by the Town. In addition thereto or in lieu thereof, such costs may be assessed against the property of the owner and collected in the same manner and at the same time as Town property taxes.