[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Supervisors
of the Township of Independence 5-21-1966 by Ord. No. 66-5. Amendments noted where
applicable.]
This chapter shall be known and may be cited
as "Independence Township Junkyard and Refuse Ordinance."
Unless otherwise expressly stated, the following
words and phrases shall be construed throughout this chapter to have
the meanings herein indicated:
The Board of Supervisors of Independence Township.
Any discarded material or article and 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.
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 the Township of Independence.
Any place where any junk as hereinafter defined, is stored,
disposed of, or accumulated.
The permit granted to a person who accumulates, stores or
disposes of junk as hereinbefore defined.
Includes any partnership, association, firm corporation.
Independence 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 July 1, and ending June 30 of the following year, and each
license must be renewed annually on or before the first day of July
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.
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
and taking into consideration the suitability of the property proposed
to be used for the purposes of the license, the character of the properties
located nearby, and the effect of the proposed use upon the Township,
both economic and aesthetic. In the event the Board shall issue a
license, it may impose upon the license and the person applying therefor
such terms and conditions in addition to the regulations herein contained
and adopted pursuant to this chapter as may be deemed necessary to
carry out the spirit and intent of this chapter.
No license shall be issued for the use of a
tract of land for junkyard purposes which shall not consist of at
least 40 square feet and no license shall be issued for the use of
a tract of land for junkyard purposes in excess of 20 acres excluding
setback area as hereinafter set forth.
The license fee shall be paid immediately upon
the issuance or renewal of a license. The amount of the license fee
shall be calculated in accordance with the following schedule as determined
by the actual land to be used by the person to whom the license is
issued, excluding all 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 license, or maintain a junkyard in any place other than the place
designated upon his license.
No license issued by the Board shall be transferable by the licenser to any other person unless such a transfer is authorized by the Board. Any person desiring to transfer his license shall notify the Board in writing, which notification shall be accompanied by an application for a license, as described in § 241-4 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 of $10.
Every person licensed under this chapter shall
provide and shall constantly keep a book, in which shall be fairly
written down in the English language at the time of the purchase of
any junk, a description of every article or material purchased or
received by him, the date and hour of such purchase and the person
from whom such article or material was purchased, received or handled
by such person shall at all times be subject to the inspection of
designated official of the Township.
Every person, licensed under this chapter, shall
keep and retain upon the licensed premises, for a period of 48 hours
after the purchase or receipt thereof, all junk received or purchased
by him, and he shall not disturb or reduce the same or alter the original
form, shape or condition 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.
Such 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 organic waste shall be stored
in such premises.
C.
All gasoline stored or kept on the premises of the
licensed junkyard shall be stored or kept in accordance with laws
and regulations imposed by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
D.
The manner of storage and arrangement of junk, 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 kept, stored, or arranged on the licensed premises shall at all times be kept, stored and arranged within the junkyard as described in the application for license hereunder, and as limited under Subsection D above.
F.
A person licensed under this chapter shall not burn
more than one motor vehicle or its equivalent at any one time. No
oil, grease, tires, gasoline or other similar material that might
be dangerous or tend to produce obnoxious smoke or odors shall be
burned within a junkyard at any time. Burning of vehicles must be
attended and controlled at all times.
G.
The premises to be licensed shall be set back a minimum
distance of 25 feet from the right-of-way lines on all streets or
roads and a minimum distance of 25 feet from all other property lines.
The area between the setback line and the right-of-way line and all
streets and roads and all other property lines shall be at all times
kept clear and vacant.
H.
When the Board shall deem it necessary and desirable,
the premises to be licensed shall at the setback lines be enclosed
by a fence of type and style to be determined by the Board or by evergreen
screen plantings, or both. The Board may set forth the fence and planting
requirement at the time of the issuance of a license or at the time
of renewal or transfer of a license.
[Amended 7-7-1992 by Ord. No. 92-3][1]
A.
Any person who violates or permits a violation of
this chapter shall, upon conviction in a summary proceeding brought
before a Magisterial District Judge under the Pennsylvania Rules of
Criminal Procedure, be guilty of a summary offense and shall be punishable
by a fine of not less than $50 nor more than $1,000, plus all costs
of prosecution, including, but not limited to, attorneys' fees, and
in default of payment thereof, shall be imprisoned for a term not
to exceed 90 days. Each day or portion thereof that such violation
continues or is permitted to continue shall constitute a separate
offense, and each section of this chapter that is violated shall also
constitute a separate offense. All fines and penalties collected for
the violation of this chapter shall be paid to the Township Treasurer.
B.
This chapter shall be enforced by the Independence
Township Supervisors, Code Enforcement Officer, or any police officer,
including, but not limited to, the Pennsylvania State Police.
[Amended 5-16-2012; 5-21-2014]
In addition to the remedies provided in § 241-13 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 proceeding against the violator in a court of equity for relief.
