[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Supervisors
of the Township of South Strabane 12-28-1965 by Ord. No. 7-1965. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Solid waste — See Ch. 194.
Abandoned vehicles; accumulation of trash — See
Ch. 225.
This chapter shall be known and may be cited
as the "South Strabane Township Junkyard and Refuse Ordinance."
Words used in this chapter are defined as follows:
The Board of Supervisors of South Strabane Township.
Any discarded material or article, including but not limited
to scrap metal; scrapped, abandoned or junked motor vehicles; machinery;
equipment; paper; glass; containers; and structures, including used
lumber, used plumbing supplies and other used building materials.
The terms of this chapter are not intended to be applied to accumulation
of materials reasonably and normally accumulated by private families.
Any person presently engaging in, or who shall hereafter
engage in, the business of accumulating, selling, buying, salvaging,
storing, disposing and dealing in junk and who maintains and operates
a junkyard within the Township.
Any place where any junk, as hereinafter defined, is stored,
disposed of or accumulated.
The permit granted by the Township to a person who accumulates,
sells, buys, stores, salvages, deals or disposes of junk.
Includes any individual, partnership, association, firm or
corporation.
The Township of South Strabane.
No person shall hereafter engage in business
as a junk dealer without first having obtained a license from the
Board, for which license a fee as hereinafter set forth shall be paid
to the Township. The license shall be issued for the twelve-month
calendar year period beginning January 1 and ending December 31, and
each license must be renewed annually on or before the first day of
December 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
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, and provided same is not in conflict
with the zoning ordinances of this Township. 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.
[Amended 11-30-1971 by Ord. No. 3-1971]
The license fee shall be paid immediately upon
issuance or renewal of a license. The amount of the license fee shall
be $200. No person shall engage in business as a junk dealer in any
place other than the place designated upon his license, nor maintain
a junkyard in any other than the place designated upon his license.
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 or vermin.
B.
No garbage or other organic waste shall be stored
in such premises.
C.
Whenever any motor vehicles shall be received in such
premises as junk, all gasoline and oil shall be drained and removed
therefrom. Gasoline in an amount not exceeding 10 gallons may be stored
above ground in said junkyard, provided the same be placed in containers
approved by the Board.
D.
No burning or melting of any junk shall be permitted
in any junkyard.
E.
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.
F.
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 E 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, which 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 line, be enclosed
by a cyclone or equivalent chain-link fence, six feet high, to be
erected at the setback line within 60 days after issuance of the license
or by evergreen screen plantings of sufficient height, or both. The
Board may set forth the fence and planting requirements at the time
of the issuance of the license or at the time of renewal of a license.
The Board shall delegate to the Township Police the duty of making monthly inspections of all licensed junkyards and filing with the Township Secretary a written report of each inspection, noting any violations therein. The Township Secretary shall notify the licensee of such violations, and, if same are not remedied within five days after notice, action shall be instituted under § 141-9 hereof. The Board shall take into consideration the inspection records of the licensee's premises on reviewing applications for renewal of a license.
Any person who shall violate any of the provisions of this chapter shall be punishable as provided in § 1-2, Summary proceedings, of the Code of the Township of South Strabane.
In addition to the remedies provided in § 141-9 above, any continued violation of this chapter which shall constitute a nuisance in fact may be abated by proceeding against the violator in a court of equity for relief.
