[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Supervisors
of the Township of Hilltown 7-18-1959 by Ord. No. 59-3. Amendments noted where
applicable.]
A.
JUNK
JUNK DEALER
JUNKYARD
PERSON
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall
have the meanings indicated:
Any discarded material or article such as is not ordinarily
disposed of as rubbish or refuse, and shall include, but not be limited
to, scrap metal and scrapped motor vehicles, and shall not include
any garbage or other organic waste, or any paper, rubbish, rags or
other flammable article or material.
Any person, as hereinafter defined, who shall engage in the
business of selling, buying, dealing in and storing junk, whether
such person shall engage in such business casually or on a full-time
basis.
Any accumulation of junk, as hereinbefore defined, covering
an area of 200 square feet or more.
Any natural person, partnership, firm or corporation.
B.
In this chapter, the singular shall include the plural
and the masculine shall include the feminine and the neuter.
No person shall engage in business as a junk
dealer nor operate or maintain a junkyard in the Township of Hilltown
without first having obtained a license from the Township Supervisors,
for which license a fee as set from time to time by resolution of
the Board of Supervisors for each and every calendar year shall be
paid, such fee to be for the use of the Township of Hilltown. Such
license shall be renewed annually on or before the first day of January
of each year; provided, in any case where a junk dealer’s business
or a junkyard shall be established in the Township of Hilltown on
or after the first day of July in any year, the license fee payable
for the remainder of such year shall be 1/2 the yearly rate.
The license provided for in § 92-2 shall be issued by the Township Supervisors after application shall have been made therefor by the person desiring to be licensed. Such license shall state the name of the person to whom the license is issued and the premises from which his business is to be conducted or upon which the junkyard is situated. Such license shall be posted conspicuously upon the premises licensed thereunder. The names of the person licensed and the number of the license under which he operates shall be placed in a conspicuous place on the outside of every vehicle used for or in connection with the junk business by such person.
No person licensed under this chapter shall,
by virtue of one license, keep more than one place of business, or
maintain or operate more than one junkyard within the Township of
Hilltown, nor shall any such person engage in business as a junk dealer
or operate or maintain a junkyard in any place other than the place
designated upon his license, nor shall any such person, or any other
person, operate upon any of the streets of the Township of Hilltown,
whether from a vehicle or upon foot, as a scavenger or an itinerant
buyer or seller of junk.
No license issued under this chapter shall be
transferable from one person to another person except when the ownership
of a licensed premises shall change. In any such case the new owner
shall apply for a transfer of such license to him and shall pay a
transfer fee as set from time to time by resolution of the Board of
Supervisors.
Every junk dealer and every person operating
or maintaining a junkyard 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 or receipt,
and the person from whom such article or material was purchased or
received. Such book and all junk purchased, received or handled by
any such person shall at all times be subject to the inspection of
the Supervisors of Hilltown Township, or their duly authorized representative.
Every junk dealer and every person operating
or maintaining a junkyard 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 junk dealer and every person operating
or maintaining a junkyard licensed under this chapter shall constantly
maintain the licensed premises in the manner prescribed by this section,
as follows:
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, and no paper, rubbish,
rags or other flammable articles or materials, shall be stored in
such premises.
C.
Whenever any motor vehicle shall be received in such
premises as junk, all gasoline and oil shall be drained and removed
therefrom, and none shall be permitted to remain upon the 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 firefighting purposes.
E.
No junk shall be placed, kept, or stored upon any
premises within 50 feet of the legal right-of-way limits of any public
road or highway abutting or adjoining the licensed premises or the
premises sought to be licensed.
[Added 4-8-1961 by Ord. No. 61-1]
No junkyard shall be open for business nor shall
any work be done thereon in connection with the storage, processing,
transporting or removal of junk at any time on Sundays or between
the hours of 8:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. on week days.
[Amended 4-8-1961 by Ord. No. 61-1]
Any person who violates or permits a violation
of this chapter shall, upon conviction in a summary proceeding brought
before a District Justice under the Pennsylvania Rules of Criminal
Procedure, be guilty of a summary offense and shall be punishable
by a fine of not more than $1,000, plus costs of prosecution. In default
of payment thereof, the defendant may be sentenced to imprisonment
for a term not exceeding 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.
