[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Supervisors of the Township of East Bradford 2-14-1984 by Ord. No. 73-1984. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Storage of antique motor vehicles — See Ch. 73-2B.
Open burning — See Ch. 76.
Solid waste — See Ch. 91.
Zoning — See Ch. 115.
This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "East Bradford Junkyard and Refuse Ordinance."
Unless otherwise expressly stated, the following words and phrases shall be construed to have the meanings herein indicated:
JUNK
Scrap copper, brass, rope, rags, batteries, paper, trash, rubber debris, waste, iron, steel and other old or scrap ferrous or nonferrous material, including wrecked, scrapped, ruined, dismantled, junked or abandoned motor vehicles or parts thereof.
JUNKED OR ABANDONED MOTOR VEHICLES
Includes, but shall not be limited to, one or more of the following:
A. 
A vehicle for which a certificate of junk has been issued by the Pennsylvania Secretary of Revenue or the official designated by any other state to issue such certificates.
B. 
A vehicle in or on which it is found that any of the following exist:
(1) 
Its engine or engine parts have been removed for more than 90 days.
(2) 
Its tires have been deflated or its wheels have been removed for more than 90 days.
(3) 
It bears no official inspection sticker or any such sticker is not current by more than 90 days, provided that a vehicle under repair which is bona fide intended for use shall not be deemed within the foregoing definition.
PERSON
Any natural person, corporation, partnership, joint venture, sole proprietorship, firm, association and any other entity of whatever type.
[Added 10-8-1996 by Ord. No. 3-1996; amended 7-8-1997 by Ord. No. 2-1997]
No individual, individuals or corporation shall operate or maintain a junkyard at any place within the corporate limits of the Township of East Bradford without first having secured a license from said township to conduct or maintain a junkyard.
A. 
Before the Township of East Bradford shall grant a license to operate or maintain a junkyard, the individual, individuals or corporation asking the same must present to the Board of Supervisors of said township a written petition asking that such license be issued. The written application shall set forth in full the owner or owners of the premises to be used for the junkyard, the name of the junk dealer, the address of the junkyard and the size of the tract or lot upon which the junkyard is located. The maximum size for a lot to be licensed as a junkyard shall be 10 acres.
B. 
The petition shall describe the location of the site for which the license is sought, the surrounding neighborhood and its general uses and have attached thereto a map showing the area of the site and the abutting property owners.
C. 
The license obtained shall state the name of the person to whom such license is issued and the premises on which such use is to be conducted. Said license shall be posted conspicuously upon the premises licensed thereunder.
A. 
The Township Supervisors, upon receipt of an application, shall advertise it seven days prior to consideration by the Supervisors in a newspaper of general circulation within the township. The Township Supervisors shall issue a license or shall refuse to issue a license to the person applying therefor after examining the application and taking into consideration the suitability of the property proposed to be used for the purpose of the license, the character of the properties located nearby and the effect of the proposed use upon the general welfare of the township. In the event that the Supervisors 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 in tent of this chapter. Any person receiving a license under this chapter shall be deemed to have agreed to comply with the terms of the license, and any deviations therefrom shall constitute a violation of the chapter.
B. 
If, prior to the issuance of the license, the Board of Supervisors receives a request for a hearing signed by five residents of the township, it shall convene a public hearing on the license application upon not less than five days' notice of the time and place of the hearing by publication in at least one newspaper of general circulation in the Township of East Bradford.
No person or entity 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 the license or maintain a junkyard in any place other than the place designated upon his license.
No license issued by the Supervisors shall be transferred by the licensee to any other person or entity unless such a transfer is authorized by the Board. Any person desiring to transfer his license shall notify the Supervisors in writing, which notification shall be accompanied by an application for a license, as described in § 66-4 of this chapter, by the transferee. In the event that the Supervisors shall approve the transfer of a license, the transferee shall immediately pay to the township a transfer fee of $50.
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 purchase of any junk a description of every article or material purchased or received by the licensee, the date and hour of such purchase and the person from whom such article or material was purchased or received. Such book and all junk received, purchased or handled by the person licensed shall at all times be subject to the inspection of any official designated by the Board of Supervisors.
Every person licensed under this chapter shall constantly maintain the licensed premises in accordance with any special provisions imposed by the Supervisors and in the manner prescribed by this section and any subsequent regulations adopted by the Supervisors.
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. 
Whenever any motor vehicle shall be received in such premises as junk, all gasoline shall be drained and removed therefrom. Gasoline in an amount not exceeding 10 gallons may be stored aboveground in said junkyards, provided that the same be placed in containers approved by the Supervisors. All other gasoline which is kept in the premises shall be stored underground, which underground storage must be approved by the Supervisors.
C. 
No garbage or other waste, and no paper, rubbish, rags or other flammable articles or materials, shall be stored on such premises.
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 in a neat and orderly manner in keeping with the standards of the trade, as set forth in Subsection D above, and at no time may the hulk or body of any vehicle or machine be stacked upon the hulk or body of another vehicle or machine.
F. 
The burning of any material on the licensed premises is strictly prohibited, except between the time of two hours after sunrise and two hours before sunset on the days Monday through Friday, inclusive. No 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 50 feet from the right-of-way of all streets or roads and a minimum distance of 50 feet from all other adjoining property lines. The area between the setback line and all other property lines shall at all times be kept clear of debris and at all times neatly trimmed and mowed.
H. 
The premises to be licensed shall, at the setback line, be enclosed by a Cyclone or equivalent chain link fence six feet high with three strands of barbed wire at the top, to be erected at the setback lines within 60 days after issuance of the license or by evergreen screen plantings, or both. If the junkyard is visible from any road or residence or residential zoning district, then an evergreen screen planting, approved by the township, shall be installed.
[Amended 12-11-1984 by Ord. No. 76-1984; 10-8-1996 by Ord. No. 3-1996; 7-8-1997 by Ord. No. 2-1997[1]]
Any person violating or permitting the violation of the provisions of this chapter shall, upon being found liable therefor in a criminal enforcement proceeding, pay a fine of not more than $1,000 nor less than $25, together with court costs and reasonable attorneys fees, and may be incarcerated for a period not exceeding 90 days. Such fine, costs, attorney fees and incarceration, after being reduced to a final, unappealed judgment, shall be enforced by the township pursuant to the applicable rules of criminal procedure. Each day of violation shall constitute a separate violation.
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance further provided that "the term 'reasonable attorneys fees' shall mean all those attorneys fees incurred by the township in bringing an action to enforce the Code and collect fines and penalties in connection therewith and shall be at that hourly rate annually approved by the Board for the Township Solicitor."
In addition to the remedies provided in § 66-10 above, any violation of this chapter which shall constitute a nuisance in fact, or which shall, in the opinion of the Supervisors, constitute a nuisance, may be abated by proceeding against the violator in a Court of Equity for relief, which relief may include an order authorizing the township to abate the nuisance and to recover the cost thereof from the licensee via an action in assumpsit or by filing a municipal lien against the property.
Junk dealers and junkyards operating and existing in the township shall be required to obtain a license within 30 days after the date of adoption and enactment of this chapter by the Board.