[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the
Town of Maine 9-11-2002 by L.L. No. 5-2002. Amendments noted where
applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Abandoned or junked vehicles — See
Ch. 435.
Zoning — See Ch. 450.
This chapter shall be known as and entitled
"A Local Law of the Town of Maine Regulating Junkyards in the Town
of Maine."
The outdoor storage of abandoned and junk vehicles
on premises within the Town of Maine is detrimental to the health,
safety and general welfare of the community and constitutes a detriment
to a clean, wholesome, safe and attractive environment that is important
to the community, and therefore should be regulated. At the same time,
it is recognized that the maintenance of properly licensed junkyards
as hereinafter defined is a useful and necessary business and ought
to be encouraged when not in conflict with the express purposes of
this chapter and when not in conflict with the Town of Maine Zoning
Ordinance.[1]
As used herein, the following terms shall have
the following meanings:
A vehicle shall be deemed to be an abandoned
vehicle if left unattended in the Town of Maine:
For more than 24 hours on any highway, road,
street or other public place, except a portion of a highway, road,
street or public place on which parking is legally permitted;
For more than 48 hours, after the parking of
such vehicle shall have become illegal, if left on a portion of a
highway, road, street or public place on which parking is legally
permitted;
For more than 96 hours on premises of another
if left without permission of the owner; or
With no current registration certificate affixed
thereto, for more than seven days on any premises within the Town
of Maine, Broome County, New York, unless the owner or lessee of such
premises has obtained and possesses a current license to operate a
junkyard business and a current certificate of approval for the location
of such junkyard business, in accordance with the provisions of this
chapter.
The term "abandoned vehicle" shall not include
any of the following:
The Town of Maine Building and Code Inspector. That term
also shall include the Town of Maine Deputy Building and Code Inspector
as the context or sense of this chapter or any particular situation
may suggest or require.
Any vehicle or motor vehicle which is abandoned,
stored, left or located by its owner or any other person on public
or private premises in the Town of Maine (other than a junkyard for
which a license and a certificate of approval for the location thereof
has been obtained in accordance with the provisions of this chapter),
and which is not registered by the State of New York or any other
state for operation on public highways.
The term "junk vehicle" shall not include any
of the following:
Any place of storage or deposit, whether in connection with
another business or not, where two or more abandoned vehicles or junk
vehicles (or any combination thereof exceeding one) are held, whether
for the purpose of resale or 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, the term "junkyard"
shall not be construed to mean an establishment having facilities
liar processing iron, steel or nonferrous scrap and whose principal
produce is scrap iron, steel or nonferrous scrap for sale for remelting
purposes only. Such term shall also include any lot or portion of
a lot, including buildings thereon, which is used, in whole or in
part, for (a) the collection, storage, deposit or sale of wastepaper,
rags, scrap metal, and discarded material, or (b) the collection,
storage, deposit, dismantling of machinery not in running condition
and the sale of parts therefrom. The definition of "junkyard" shall
not include vehicle warehousing, gasoline stations, licensed auto
repair garages, licensed auto dealers, towing impound yards, licensed
farm equipment dealers, or auto transport companies, provided that
the activities on those properties are limited to those uses.
[Amended 7-19-2016 by L.L. No. 4-2016]
Every vehicle operated or driven upon a public highway which
is propelled by any power other than muscular power, except:
A person, other than a lienholder, having the property in
or title to a vehicle. The term includes a person entitled to the
use and possession of a vehicle subject to a security interest in
another person and also includes any lessee or bailee of a motor vehicle
having the exclusive use thereof, under a lease or otherwise, for
a period greater than 30 days.
Includes all tracts and parcels of real property situated
within the Town of Maine, Broome County, New York, whether improved,
occupied or vacant.
Every device in, upon or by which any person or property
is or may be transported or drawn upon a highway, except devices moved
by human power or used exclusively upon stationary rails or tracks.
A.
Requirement for operation or maintenance. No person
shall operate, establish or maintain a junkyard in the Town of Maine
unless and until:
(1)
Such person has obtained a license to operate a junkyard
business in accordance with the requirements of this chapter;
(2)
Such junkyard business is (according to the Town of
Maine Zoning Ordinance) a use permitted in the zoning district in
which the junkyard business is located; and
(3)
Such person has obtained from the Town of Maine a
certificate of approval for the location of such junkyard.
B.
Application for license and certificate of approval.
Application for the license and the certificate of approval for location
shall be made in writing to the Town Board of the Town of Maine. The
application shall be accompanied by a certificate from the Building
and Code Inspector of the Town of Maine that the proposed location
is not within an established district restricted against such uses
or otherwise contrary to the prohibitions of the Town of Maine Zoning
Ordinance. The application shall contain a description of the premises
to be included as part of the junkyard and a sketch description of
the proposed junkyard location, including all of the following information:
(1)
Applicant's name (if a corporation, give name and
title of officers and directors).
(2)
Address of applicant and of the proposed junkyard.
(3)
Tax Map number of premises for proposed junkyard location.
(4)
A site plan sketch shall be drawn to a scale of at
least one inch equals 100 feet and which shall include at least the
following information:
(a)
Name of highway, road or street the premises
fronts on.
(b)
Location and length of premises' property boundaries.
(c)
Location of storage areas, fencing, structures,
and their height as well as front, rear, and side setbacks from the
premises' property lines.
(d)
Location and size of drives and parking areas.
(e)
Location of existing and proposed utility systems,
including wells and septic treatment areas.
(f)
Area contour map and topographical features
which would preclude the need for complete fence screening of stored
material.
(g)
North arrow.
(h)
A vicinity sketch (which may be separate and
to a smaller scale) showing the location of the proposed junkyard
and subject premises in relation to the surrounding premises and buildings.
(5)
All other information which is required pursuant to
the New York State Environmental Conservation Law and the Town of
Maine Environmental Quality Review Law.
C.
Hearing. A public hearing on the application shall
be held within the Town of Maine not more than two months from the
date of the receipt of the application by the Maine Town Board. Notice
of the hearing shall be given to the applicant by mail to the address
given in the application and shall be published once in the official
newspaper of the Town of Maine, if there is one, otherwise in a newspaper
having general circulation within the Town of Maine, which publication
shall be not less than seven days before the date of the hearing.
D.
License requirements. At the time and place set for
the public hearing, the Maine Town Board shall hear the applicant
and all other persons wishing to be heard on the application for a
license to operate, establish or maintain the junkyard. In consideration
of such application, the Maine Town Board shall take into account
the qualifications of the applicant with reference to the applicant's
ability to comply with the fencing requirements or other reasonable
regulations concerning the proposed junkyard, to any record of convictions
for any type of larceny or receiving of stolen goods, and to any other
matter within the purposes of this chapter.
E.
Location requirements. At the time and place set for
hearing, the Maine Town Board shall hear the applicant and all other
persons wishing to be heard on the application for certificate of
approval for the location of the junkyard. In passing upon same, the
Maine Town Board shall take into account, after proof of legal ownership
or right to such use of the premises for the license period by the
applicant, the nature and development of surrounding premises or property,
such as the proximity of churches, schools, hospitals, public buildings
or other places of public gathering, and whether or not the proposed
location can be reasonably protected from affecting the public health
and safety by reason of offensive or unhealthy odors or smoke, vermin
or of other causes.
F.
Aesthetic considerations. At the hearing regarding
location of the junkyard, the Maine Town Board may also take into
account the clean, wholesome and attractive environment which has
been declared to be of vital importance to the continued general welfare
of its citizens by considering whether or not the proposed location
can be reasonably protected from having an unfavorable effect thereon.
In this connection, the Maine Town Board may consider collectively
the type of road servicing the junkyard or from which the junkyard
may be seen, the natural or artificial barriers protecting the junkyard
from view, the proximity of the proposed junkyard to established residential
and recreational areas or main access routes thereto, as well as the
reasonable availability of other suitable sites for the junkyard.
G.
Grant or denial of application; appeal. After the
hearing, the Maine Town Board shall, within two weeks, make a finding
as to whether or not the application should be granted, giving notice
of its finding to the applicant by mail to the address given on the
application. If approved, the license, including the certificate of
approved location, shall be forthwith issued to remain in effect until
the following April 1. Approval shall be personal to the applicant
and not assignable. Licenses shall be renewed thereafter upon payment
of the annual license fee without hearing, provided all provisions
of this chapter are complied with during the license period, the junkyard
does not become a public nuisance under the common law and the applicant
is not convicted of any type of larceny or the receiving of stolen
goods. The determination of the Maine Town Board may be reviewed under
Article 78 of the New York Civil Practice Law and Rules.
H.
License fees. The license fee for an initial application
shall be $1,000, to be paid at the time the application is made. The
annual license renewal fee shall be $200, to be paid at the time the
application for renewal is made. The Town of Maine, in addition to
the license fee, may assess the applicant with the costs of advertising
such application and such other reasonable costs incident to the hearing
as are clearly attributable thereto, and the Maine Town Board may
make the license conditional upon payment of the same.
[Amended 11-12-2008 by L.L. No. 2-2008; 7-19-2016 by L.L. No. 4-2016]
I.
Fencing.
(1)
Before use, a new junkyard shall be completely surrounded
with a fence at least eight feet in height which substantially screens
such junkyard and with a suitable gate which shall be closed and locked
except during the working hours of such junkyard or when the applicant
or applicant's agent shall be within the junkyard. Such fence shall
be erected not nearer than 50 feet from the right-of-way of a public
highway, road or street. All abandoned vehicles and junk vehicles
and parts thereof stored or deposited by the applicant shall be kept
within the enclosure of the junkyard except as removal shall be necessary
for the transportation of same in the reasonable course of the business.
All wrecking or other work on such abandoned vehicles and junk vehicles
and parts and all burning of same within the vicinity of the junkyard
shall be accomplished within the enclosure.
(2)
Where the topography, natural growth of timber or
other considerations accomplish the purposes of this section in whole
or in part, the fencing requirements hereunder may be reduced by the
Maine Town Board upon granting the license; provided, however, that
such natural barrier conforms with the purposes of this section.
J.
Effect of local ordinances or local laws. This section
shall not be construed to affect or supersede the Town of Maine Zoning
Ordinance[1] or any other Town of Maine ordinances or local laws for
the control of abandoned or junk vehicles now in effect or hereafter
enacted in the Town of Maine within the proper exercise of the police
power of the Town of Maine.
K.
Established junkyards. For the purposes of this section, the location of junkyards already legally established and properly licensed as of the effective date of this chapter shall be considered approved by the Maine Town Board where located and the owner thereof deemed suitable for the issuance of a license. Within 60 days from the passage of this chapter, however, the owner of any junkyard already established shall furnish the Maine Town Board the information as to location which is required in an application, together with the license fee, and the Maine Town Board shall, after an appropriate environmental review, issue to such applicant a license valid until the next April 1, at which time such owner may apply for renewal as herein provided. Such owner shall comply with all other provisions of this section including the fencing requirements set forth in Subsection I of this section.
L.
Notwithstanding any of the foregoing provisions of
this section, no junkyard, hereafter established, shall be licensed
to operate such yard or any part thereof within 500 feet of a church,
school, hospital, public building or place of public assembly.[2]
[2]
Editor’s Note: Former Subsections M and N, regarding
limitations on number of vehicles and size of junkyards, which immediately
followed this subsection, were repealed 7-19-2016 by L.L. No. 4-2016.
[Amended 11-12-2008 by L.L. No. 2-2008]
A violation of this chapter is hereby declared
to be an offense, punishable by a fine in an amount to be fixed by
the court, not exceeding $250 or imprisonment for a period not to
exceed 15 days, or both. Each week's continued violation shall constitute
a separate additional violation. The Maine Town Board may also maintain
an action or proceeding in the name of the Town of Maine in a court
of competent jurisdiction to compel compliance with or to restrain
by injunction the violation of this chapter.
The Town of Maine Building and Code Inspector
is hereby authorized and empowered to:
A.
Issue and serve orders to remedy violation in the
event of any violation of this chapter.
B.
Issue and serve appearance tickets with respect to
any violation of this chapter.
C.
Issue and serve informations and any other documents
which are required in order to prosecute a person or persons in the
Town Court of the Town of Maine or in any other court of competent
jurisdiction for violating this chapter.
D.
Prosecute, to the extent authorized by law, in any
court of competent jurisdiction, any violations of any provisions
of this chapter.
E.
Testify on behalf of the Town of Maine in the Town
Court of the Town of Maine or in any other court of competent jurisdiction
in the event of a trial involving a person or persons who is/are charged
with a violation of this chapter.
F.
Issue and serve such other papers or documents and
to take such other steps as may be required by applicable provisions
of law in order to prosecute any person or persons who is/are charged
with a violation of this chapter.
This chapter shall not affect or impair any
preexisting or prior violations or any act done or right accruing,
accrued or acquired, liability, penalty, forfeiture or punishment
incurred or owing, or levy or assessment made, imposed or owing, prior
to the time this chapter takes effect, but the same may be enjoyed,
asserted, collected, enforced, prosecuted or inflicted as fully and
to the same extent as if this chapter had not been adopted. All actions
and proceedings, civil or criminal, commenced under or by virtue of
any provision of the Town of Maine local law entitled "A Local Law
Regulating Abandoned and Junk Vehicles in the Town of Maine," Town
of Maine Local Law No. 3 of 1986, as amended; the Town of Maine Zoning
Ordinance[1] or any other Town of Maine local law, ordinance, resolution
or regulation, and pending immediately prior to the taking effect
of such repeal, may be prosecuted and defended to final effect in
the same manner as they might if this chapter had not been adopted.
