This chapter shall be known and may be cited as "North Coventry Township
Junkyard and Refuse Ordinance."
Unless otherwise expressly stated, the following words and phases shall
be construed throughout this chapter to have the meanings herein indicated:
BOARD
The Board of Supervisors of North Coventry Township.
JUNK
Any discarded material or article and shall include, but not be limited
to, scrap metal, scrapped, abandoned or junked motor vehicles, machinery,
equipment, paper, glass, containers, and structures. It shall not include,
however, refuse or garbage kept in a proper container for the purpose of prompt
disposal.
JUNK DEALER
Any person, as hereinafter defined, who shall engage in the business
of selling, buying, salvaging and dealing in junk and who maintains and operates
a junkyard within the Township of North Coventry.
JUNKYARD
Any place where any junk as hereinafter defined is stored, disposed
of, or accumulated.
LICENSE
The permit granted to a person who accumulates, stores or disposes
of junk as hereinbefore defined.
PERSON
Includes any partnership, association, firm and corporation.
TOWNSHIP
North Coventry Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania.
No person shall engage in business as a junk dealer, or maintain a junkyard
without first having obtained a license from the Board, for which license
a fee in accordance with the schedule hereinafter set forth shall be paid
to the Township for the use of the Township. The license shall be issued for
the twelve-month period beginning July 1, and ending June 30 of the following
year, and each license must be renewed annually on or before the first day
of July of each year.
The license provided for in this chapter shall be issued by the Board
after written application shall have been made therefore 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. 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 or
shall refuse to issue a license to the person applying therefore 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. In the event the Board shall issue
a license, it may impose upon the license and the person applying therefore
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.
No person 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 his license, or maintain a junkyard in any place
other than the place designated upon his license.
No license issued by the Board shall be transferable by the licenser to any other person unless such a transfer is authorized by the Board. Any person desiring to transfer his license shall notify the Board in writing, which notification shall be accompanied by an application for a license, as described in §
213-4 of this chapter, by the transferee.
In the event the Board shall approve the transfer of a license the transferee
shall immediately pay the Township a transfer fee in an amount as set from
time to time by resolution of the Board of Supervisors.
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 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,
received or handled. Such book and junk material shall at all times be subject
to the inspection of any official of the Township.
Every person 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 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 and vermin.
B. No garbage or other organic waste shall be stored in
such premises.
C. 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 above ground in said junkyards
provided the same be placed in approved containers per NFPA.
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 as described in the application for license hereunder, and as limited under Subsection
D above.
F. A person licensed under this chapter shall not burn any
motor vehicle or its equivalent at any time. No oil, grease, tires, gasoline
or other similar material that might be dangerous or tend to produce obnoxious
smoke or odors shall be burned within a junkyard at any time.
G. The premises to be licensed shall be set back a minimum
distance of 25 feet from the right-of-way lines on all streets or roads and
a minimum distance of 35 feet from all other property lines. The area between
the setback line and the right-of-way line and all streets and roads and all
other property lines 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 lines be enclosed by a fence
of type and style to be determined by the Board or by evergreen screen plantings,
or both. The Board may set forth the fence and planting requirements at the
time of the issuance of a license or at the time of renewal or transfer of
a license.
Any person who violates or permits a violation of this chapter shall,
upon being found liable therefor in a civil enforcement proceeding commenced
by the Township before a Magisterial District Judge, pay a fine of not more
than $600, plus all court costs, including reasonable attorney's fees, incurred
by the Township in the enforcement of this chapter. No judgment shall be imposed
until the date of the determination of the violation by the Magisterial District
Judge. If the defendant neither pays nor timely appeals the judgment, the
Township may enforce the judgment pursuant to the applicable Rules of Civil
Procedure. Each day a violation exists shall constitute a separate offense.
Further, the appropriate officers or agents of the Township are hereby authorized
to seek equitable relief, including injunction, to enforce compliance herewith.
In addition to the remedies provided in §
213-13 above, any continued violations of this chapter which shall constitute a nuisance in fact or which shall in the opinion of the Board constitute a nuisance may be abated by proceeding against the violator in a court of equity for relief.