[HISTORY: Adopted by the Borough Council of the Borough of Norristown
4-6-1982 as Ch. 137 of the 1981 Code. Section 194-14 amended at time of adoption
of Code; see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I. Other amendments noted where
applicable.]
Except where otherwise indicated by the context, the following definitions
shall apply in the interpretation and enforcement of this chapter:
The area of a junkyard as described in a junk dealer's license or
application for license, as provided for in this chapter.
Old iron, steel, brass, copper, tin, lead or other base
metals; old cordage, ropes, rags, fibers or fabrics; old rubber; old bottles
or other glass; bones; plastics, wastepaper and other waste or discarded material
which might be prepared to be used again in some form; and motor vehicles,
no longer used as such, to be used for scrap metal or stripping of parts.
A person who operates a junkyard, as defined below, within the borough.
A yard, lot or place, covered or uncovered, outdoors or in an enclosed
building, containing junk, as defined above, upon which occurs one (1) or
more acts of buying, keeping, dismantling, processing, selling or offering
for sale any such junk, in whole units or by parts, for a business or commercial
purpose, whether or not the proceeds from such act or acts are to be used
for charity.
Any person, firm, partnership, association, corporation, company
or organization of any kind.
It shall be unlawful for any person to maintain a junkyard in the Borough
of Norristown, whether personally, by agents or employees, singly or along
with some other business or enterprise, without first having obtained a license
therefor from the Building Inspector, with the approval of the Bureau of Fire
Prevention, in accordance with the provisions of this chapter. Any person
who operates or maintains more than one (1) junkyard within the borough shall
be required to have in effect a separate license for each yard.
It is hereby made the duty of the Fire Prevention Bureau to enforce
or aid in the enforcement of all provisions of this chapter; and for this
purpose, any of the members of the Bureau or their duly authorized representatives
shall have the right and are hereby empowered to enter upon any premises on
which any business subject to the provisions of this chapter is located or
about to be located and inspect the same at any reasonable time. The Bureau
is further empowered to issue orders granting, renewing and revoking any license
provided for in accordance with the provisions of this chapter.
An applicant for license under this chapter shall file with the Building
Inspector a written application, signed by himself if an individual, by all
partners if a partnership and by the president or chief officer of a corporation
or other organization, upon forms provided by the Building Inspector.
Upon receipt of an application for a junkyard license as provided for
herein, the Building Inspector and Bureau of Fire Prevention and Health Department
shall cause an investigation to be made of the applicant's business responsibility.
The proposed or existing premises and equipment with which the junkyard is
being or is to be operated shall be examined by the Building Inspector and
Bureau of Fire Prevention and Health Department or their duly authorized representative.
If the Building Inspector and Bureau of Fire Prevention and Health Department
find that the applicant's business responsibility is satisfactory and that
the proposed or existing buildings or equipment with which the junkyard is
being or is to be operated conform to the requirements of the Building Code,[1] Chapter 320, Zoning, and the requirements of this chapter, a license shall be issued to the applicant upon payment of the fee prescribed by this chapter.
[1]
Editor's Note: See Ch. 119, Building Construction.
A.
Any license or renewal license issued hereunder shall
be effective as of the date of its issue and shall expire at the end of the
calendar year.
B.
An applicant for a renewal license shall file with the
Building Inspector a written application, upon forms provided by the Building
Inspector, signed and sworn to in the same manner required in the case of
an original application, with the fee as provided by this chapter.
[Amended 12-4-1990 by Ord.
No. 90-33]
The annual fee to be paid for any license or renewal license issued
hereunder shall be five hundred dollars ($500.).
No license issued under this chapter shall be transferred or assigned
or used by any person other than the one to whom it was issued, and no junkyard
license shall be used at any location other than the one described in the
application for which it was issued.
The following general operating requirements shall apply to all junkyards
licensed in accordance with the provisions of this chapter:
A.
The license issued pursuant to this chapter shall be
plainly displayed on the business premises.
B.
The junkyard, together with the things kept therein,
shall at all times be maintained in a sanitary condition.
C.
No space not covered by the license shall be used in
the licensed business.
D.
No water shall be allowed to stand in any place on the
premises in such manner as to afford a breeding place for mosquitoes.
E.
Weeds and vegetation on the premises, other than trees,
shall be kept at a height of not more than four (4) inches.
F.
No garbage or other waste liable to give off a foul odor
or attract vermin shall be kept on the premises; nor shall any refuse of any
kind be kept on the premises, unless such refuse is junk, as defined herein,
and is in use in the licensed business.
G.
No junk shall be allowed to rest upon or protrude over
any public street, walkway or curb or to become scattered or blown off the
business premises.
H.
Junk shall be stored in piles not exceeding ten (10)
feet in height and shall be arranged so as to permit easy access to all such
junk for fire-fighting purposes.
I.
No combustible material of any kind not necessary or
beneficial to the licensed business shall be kept on the premises; nor shall
the premises be allowed to become a fire hazard.
J.
Gasoline and oil shall be removed from any scrapped engines
or vehicles on the premises.
K.
No junk or other materials shall be burned on the premises
in any incinerator not meeting the requirements of the Building Code[1] and the regulations pertaining to incinerators in the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania; and no junk or other materials shall be burned on the premises
in the open.
[1]
Editor's Note: See Ch. 119, Building Construction.
L.
No noisy processing of junk or other noisy activity shall
be carried on in connection with the licensed business on Sunday, Christmas,
Thanksgiving or at any time between the hours of 6:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m.
M.
The area on the premises where junk is kept (other than
indoors) shall be enclosed, except for entrances and exits, with a solid,
vertical wall or fence, to be opaque, constructed of wood, metal, plastic
or masonry, with a minimum height of six (6) feet measured from the ground
level. Entrances and exits shall not be wider or more numerous than reasonably
necessary for the conduct of the licensed business. All materials for fences
and/or walls must be in good condition, and the fences or walls must be constructed
in a workmanlike manner.
N.
The license shall permit inspection of the business premises
by any member or representative of a member of the Fire Prevention Bureau
at any reasonable time.
O.
No junkyard dealer licensed hereunder or his agent or
employee shall purchase or receive any junk for use in the licensed business
from any person under the age of twenty-one (21) years without the written
consent of a parent or guardian of such person. Such writing shall be held
available for inspection by any member or representative of a member of the
Fire Prevention Bureau for a period of at least one (1) year.
P.
No junkyard shall be allowed to become a nuisance; nor
shall any junkyard be operated in such manner as to become injurious to the
health, safety or welfare of the community or of any residents close by.
The Fire Prevention Bureau or its duly authorized representatives shall
inspect the junkyards of all junk dealers licensed under this chapter at least
once a year to determine whether such yards are being operated in accordance
with this chapter and other applicable provisions of law.
When the Fire Prevention Bureau determines that the public interest
so requires, it shall revoke or suspend the license of any junkyard when it
finds, after due investigation, that:
A.
The junk dealer or any agent or officer of such dealer
who takes part in the operation of the licensed yard is not capable of operating
the licensed yard or carrying on the licensed activity in a good manner consistent
with public health, safety and morals.
B.
The junk dealer has failed to comply with the provisions
of this chapter or any provision of law applicable to the premises, equipment
or operation of the licensed business.
C.
The licensee has obtained his license through any fraud
or misstatement.
D.
The licensed yard or activity is being conducted in a
manner detrimental to the health, safety or general welfare of the public
or is a nuisance or is being operated or carried on in any unlawful manner.
Any person aggrieved by an order of the Fire Prevention Bureau or the
Building Inspector granting, denying, renewing or revoking a license for a
proposed or existing yard or activity subject to the provisions of this chapter
may file a written request for a hearing before the Bureau within ten (10)
days after issuance of such order. The Bureau shall give notice of a public
hearing upon this request to be held not less than ten (10) days after service
of the notice of the person requesting the hearing. The Bureau shall also
give notice of the hearing to other persons directly interested in the order
in question. At such hearing, the Bureau shall determine whether the granting,
denial, renewal or revocation of the license was in accordance with the provisions
of this chapter and shall issue an order which will be filed with the Borough
Secretary and served upon all parties appearing or represented at said hearing.
Any person maintaining a junkyard within the borough on the effective
date of this chapter shall have a period of ninety (90) days after such effective
date to comply with the provisions of this chapter.
Any person or persons, corporation, partnership or other entity whatsoever
violating any of the provisions of this chapter shall, upon conviction, be
sentenced to pay a fine not to exceed the maximum fine of six hundred dollars
($600.), plus costs of prosecution, and in default of payment of such costs
and prosecution, shall be sentenced to imprisonment for a term not exceeding
thirty (30) days; provided, however, that if the District Justice determines
that the defendant is without the financial means to pay the fines and costs
immediately or in a single remittance, such defendant shall be permitted to
pay the fines or costs in installments and over such periods of time as the
District Justice deems to be just.
