[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Supervisors
of the County of Rappahannock 3-5-2014.[1] Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Vehicles and traffic — See Ch. 162.
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance also superseded former Ch. 143,
Solid Waste, comprised of Art. I, Trash, adopted 12-5-1988, as amended.
For the purposes of this chapter:
A vehicle which, for a period of 60 days or longer, has either
been partially or totally disassembled by the removal of tires and
wheels, the engine, or other essential parts required for operation
of the vehicle, or on which there are displayed neither valid license
plates nor a valid inspection decal. The term "inoperable vehicle"
does not include a vehicle previously used in agricultural operations
that is stored on the owner's land zoned agricultural for the
purpose of providing parts, and is not visible from a public road
or property owned by another.
A device designed and intended for self-propulsion by a motor
within or on the device.
Includes trash, garbage, refuse, litter, debris, junk, brush,
stumps, limbs or any physical object which has been discarded or abandoned,
and includes items that may be recycled, but does not include machinery
or equipment previously used in agricultural operations that is stored
on the owner's land zoned agricultural for the purpose of providing
parts, and is not visible from a public road or property owned by
another.
Motor vehicle, trailer or semitrailer.
(Note: See Code of Virginia, § 15.2-901.)
A.
The owners of real property within Rappahannock County shall, within
30 days of having been given notice from the County Administrator
to do so, remove from such real property any and all solid waste and
other substances which might endanger the health or safety of any
other resident of the County.
B.
If all such solid waste and other substances are not removed within
the time specified, the Board of Supervisors, by majority vote, may
direct removal by its own agents or employees, in which event the
cost or expenses thereof shall be chargeable to and paid by the owners
of such real property and may be collected by the locality as taxes
are collected. Removal by the County shall not relieve the owner of
criminal responsibility.
(Note: See Code of Virginia, §§ 15.2-903 and
15.2-904.)
A.
The owners of property zoned for residential, commercial or agricultural
purposes shall, within 30 days of having been given notice from the
County Administrator to do so, remove therefrom any inoperable vehicles
that are not kept within a fully enclosed building or structure. The
County Administrator shall give such notice only if the inoperable
vehicle(s) is/are on a lot of less than 1/2 acre, or if there are
more than one inoperable vehicle on a lot of between 1/2 and up to
one acre, or if there are more than two inoperable vehicles on a lot
of one acre or more.
B.
If such inoperable vehicles are not removed within the time specified
by the County Administrator, the Board of Supervisors, by majority
vote, may, through its own agents or employees, remove any such inoperable
vehicles, and may dispose of same as scrap or otherwise after giving
an additional notice to the owner. Removal by the County shall not
relieve the owner of criminal responsibility.
C.
Notwithstanding the other provisions of this section, if the property
owner can demonstrate that he is actively restoring or repairing a
motor vehicle, and if it is shielded or screened from view, the motor
vehicle and one additional inoperative motor vehicle that is shielded
or screened from view and being used for the restoration or repair
may remain on the property. "Shielded or screened from view" means
not visible by someone standing at ground level from outside of the
property on which the subject motor vehicle is located.
Every charge, cost or expense incurred by the County in the
removal of solid waste or any inoperable vehicles shall be assessed
against the owner of the real property from which the solid waste
or inoperable vehicles were removed, and if such assessed amount remains
unpaid for 30 days after the property owner has been given notice
of same, it shall constitute a lien against such property, ranking
on a parity with liens for unpaid local taxes and enforceable in the
same manner as provided in Articles 3 and 4 of Chapter 39 of Title
58.1 of the Code of Virginia, and shall be placed of record in the
Clerk's office of the Circuit Court for this County. The County
may waive such liens in order to facilitate the sale of the property.
Such liens may be waived only as to a purchaser who is unrelated by
blood or marriage to the owner and who has no business association
with the owner. All such liens shall remain a personal obligation
of the owner of the property at the time the liens were imposed. (Note:
See Code of Virginia, § 15.2-901.) Any amount received by
the County on disposal of any vehicles or solid waste shall be first
applied against the cost of removal and disposal incurred by the County,
then against any other amounts owed to the County, including delinquent
taxes, and any balance paid to the owner of the property.
If upon receipt of the notice from the County Administrator
provided for in this chapter the property owner provides satisfactory
proof to the County Administrator that the solid waste or inoperable
vehicles were placed on his or her property without his or her consent,
and the property owner gives written permission to the County to remove
such solid waste or vehicles and agrees to prosecute any responsible
person, then the property owner shall not be subject to criminal prosecution
or to having a lien placed on his or her property. However, this provision
does not apply to a person who buys real property with solid waste
or inoperable vehicles located thereon at time of transfer of title,
even though placed there by someone else without permission.
Only solid waste originating as such within the bounds of Rappahannock
County shall be disposed of in Rappahannock County. Only persons who
either own real property, or reside, within Rappahannock County may
dispose of solid waste at a County-operated facility. (Note: See Code
of Virginia, § 15.2-928.)
Solid waste shall be disposed of only:
A.
In receptacles, including recycling bins, or places that are provided
and designated for such purpose by the County at the Amissville Waste
Transfer Station on Weaver Road or at the Flatwoods Waste Transfer
Station on Rock Mills Road, these facilities being the waste transfer
stations owned and operated by the County, but no prohibited waste
is permitted at such facilities except as provided in the next section;
or
B.
In receptacles that are provided for such purpose by a private contractor
who will dispose of the contents of the receptacle at an approved
facility located outside of Rappahannock County. (Note: See Code of
Virginia, § 15.2-901A2.)
A.
The following types of waste are declared to be prohibited waste and may not be disposed of in any receptacle, place or facility provided by the County, except as allowed in Subsection C below. Prohibited waste may be deposited in receptacles provided by a private contractor if the receptacle is provided for that specific purpose, and the waste is then transported outside of the County for lawful disposal.
B.
Prohibited waste not permitted under any circumstances: pathological
and biological waste, oil sludge, cesspool or other human waste, human
and animal remains, large automobile and vehicular parts, trailers,
agricultural equipment, marine vessels, or similar items, farm and
other large machinery, wire and cable, liquid wastes, explosives (including
ammunition and firearms), radioactive materials, hazardous waste,
as determined by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality
(Note: See Code of Virginia, § 10.1-1400 et seq.), such
as cleaning fluids, flammables, petroleum products (other than used
motor oil), cutting oils, paints, acids, caustics, pesticides, insecticides,
poisons, drugs, or any other materials that would be likely to cause
a transfer station to violate an air or water quality effluent standard
or to pose a threat to health or safety or which may cause damage
to or adversely affect the operation or permitting of the transfer
station, or if any governmental agency or unit having appropriate
jurisdiction shall determine that any substance which is not, as of
the date of this chapter, considered harmful, or of a toxic nature
or dangerous, is in fact harmful, toxic or dangerous, such substance
shall thereafter be prohibited, provided certain prohibited waste
may be disposed of in receptacles, or at places, provided by the County
from time to time for the specific purpose of disposing of such waste.
C.
Prohibited waste allowed with conditions:
(1)
Wood, brush and foliage may be disposed of at the place designated
at the Amissville Waste Transfer Station, or on the property where
they originate. Such materials removed from agricultural or forestal
lands may be disposed of on other lands used for agricultural or forestal
purposes if both properties are owned by the same person(s). (See
Code of Virginia, § 10.1-1408.1I.)
(2)
White goods, tires, electronics, paper, batteries, used motor oil,
scrap metal and such other items as the County may hereafter designate
may be disposed of at the places specifically provided at the waste
transfer stations.
Solid waste may be recycled only at the places designated by
the County at its waste transfer stations, provided nothing shall
prevent solid waste from being transported outside of the County for
recycling if in accord with the law of the receiving jurisdiction.
The "recycling shed" located at the Flatwoods Waste Transfer Station
is for use of County residents and property owners only. It is intended
to provide items for their use or for that of their families, relatives
and friends. It is not intended to be a source of items for sale to
the general public. The County Administrator shall have the authority
to ban any person from use of the recycling shed if he believes that
he or she is misusing it.
A violation of any provision of this chapter, including the
failure to comply with a notice from the County Administrator to remove
solid waste or inoperable vehicles from private property, shall be
punishable as a Class 1 misdemeanor. (See Code of Virginia, § 18.2-13.)
Each day an unlawful act occurs is a separate violation and may be
charged and punished as such. Further, upon conviction, a person may,
after having been given notice by the County Administrator or the
Board of Supervisors, be banned from the use of County solid waste
transfer, disposal or recycling facilities, and/or forbidden from
coming upon County-owned property where such facilities are located.
In the event a person violates this chapter in such a manner as to
cause the County to incur costs in remediating the harm caused by
the violation, that person shall be liable to the County for all such
remediation costs, plus any costs of collection, including reasonable
attorney's fees. Such costs may be ordered as restitution in
the event there is a criminal conviction.
Any notice required to be given by this chapter shall be deemed
to have been given as of the earliest of any of the following which
apply:
Nothing in this Chapter 143 (Solid Waste) shall be deemed to conflict with the provisions of Chapter 170 (Zoning) of this Code, and any action taken by the County of Rappahannock or by the Zoning Administrator pursuant to Chapter 170 shall be independent of, and not governed by, this chapter, and any action taken by the County of Rappahannock or by the County Administrator pursuant to this Chapter 143 shall be independent of, and not governed by, Chapter 170.
