[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Council of the Township of Washington
5-2-1978 by Ord. No. 3-78. Amendments noted where applicable.]
This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "Washington Township
Junkyard Ordinance of 1978." This chapter is enacted under the authority of
Article VII, Section 702, Clause LVIII, of the Second Class Township Code,
Act of May 1, 1933, P.L. 103, as amended, 53 P.S. § 65758.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: See now 53 P.S. § 66532.
Unless otherwise expressly stated, the following words and phrases shall
be construed throughout this chapter to have the meanings herein indicated:
The Washington Township Council.
Discarded materials, articles or things possessing value in part,
gross or aggregate, and including but not limited to scrapped motor vehicles
and parts thereof, including motors, bodies of motor vehicles and vehicles
which are inoperable and do not have a current and valid inspection sticker
as required by the motor vehicles laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,
but not including garbage or other organic waste, or farm machinery, provided
that said farm machinery is used in connection with a bona fide farming operation.
Any person, partnership, association or corporation engaged in the
business of selling, buying or dealing in junk, including but not limited
to buying, selling and dealing in junked or scrapped motor vehicles, or parts
removed from scrapped motor vehicles, or otherwise engaging in the operation
of an automobile graveyard as provided in the Act of May 1, 1933, P.L. 103,
Article VII, Section 702, C.LVIII, as amended; 53 P.S. § 65758.
[1]Any place or establishment where junk is stored or accumulated on
the outside of any building, edifice or structure that is enclosed on all
sides or where the business of selling, buying or dealing in junk is carried
on, or where two or more motor vehicles are stored which are unlicensed, inoperable
and do not have a current and valid inspection sticker as required by the
motor vehicle laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania; except, however, motor
vehicles used exclusively for farm use shall not come within this definition.
The permit granted by Washington Township to a person who accumulates,
stores or disposes of junk as hereinbefore defined or who maintains a junkyard
as defined herein within the Township of Washington.
Includes any partnership, association, firm or corporation.
Washington Township, Erie County, Pennsylvania.
[1]
Editor's Note: See now 53 P.S. § 66532.
On and after the effective date of this chapter, no person shall engage or continue to engage in business as a junk dealer or establish or operate a junkyard in the Township of Washington except as authorized by this chapter and without first having made an application for a license and obtained a license therefor from Council as provided in §§ 76-4 and 76-6 herein. Every junk dealer shall pay an annual license fee of $200 for every license or renewal thereof issued under the this chapter. All licenses shall be issued for a term of one year beginning June 1 and ending May 31 of the following year. No abatement of the annual license fee shall be made for any cause whatsoever. All licenses must be renewed annually on or before the first day of June of each year by a renewal application which shall contain the same information and be subject to the same standards and conditions as the applicant's initial application.
A.
The license provided for in this chapter shall be issued
by the Washington Township Council after written application shall have been
made therefor by the person desiring to be licensed. Such application shall
be made on such forms as Council may provide. All blanks contained on said
form and questions asked therein shall be fully answered by the applicant.
Said application shall include but not be limited to the following:
(1)
The name of the person completing the application.
(2)
The applicant's address.
(3)
The address and description of the premises on which
the business is to be conducted or the junkyard maintained.
(4)
The identity of the owner of the premises.
(5)
The material to be junked.
(6)
The days of the week which the business will be conducted.
(7)
The hours during the day which the business will be conducted.
(8)
Each application shall describe the premises upon which
the junkyard is to be established or operated, specifying therein setback
lines as required herein, structures erected thereon and dwellings erected
upon premises adjacent to the premises proposed to be used.
(9)
A reference to the place where the deed to the premises
is recorded.
B.
In addition to the foregoing, each applicant by executing
said application agrees to comply with the following standards for the operation
and maintenance of a junkyard in Washington Township; and further provided
that no license shall be issued until said standards are complied with:
(1)
No junk shall be stored or accumulated nor shall any
structure be erected within 150 feet of any existing dwelling house erected
upon premises adjacent to the licensed premises, provided that nothing contained
in this subsection shall apply to existing structures pertaining to and being
used in connection with junkyards presently established and operating.
(2)
On that portion of the premises to be utilized as a junkyard,
and which abuts or borders on a road right-of-way and which is visible from
said road right-of-way, there shall be erected a solid masonry or metal fence
or wall of a uniform design, texture and structure. Such fence or wall shall
not be less than six feet in height nor shall two or more vehicles or major
parts thereof be stacked on top of one another or otherwise as to protrude
above it. The erection of said fence shall be completed within one month after
the effective date of this chapter. It is further provided that the aforegoing
fencing provisions shall be applicable only to that portion of the premises
being immediately used for the storage of junk and shall not be applicable
to the balance of the property owned or used by said junkyard operator, so
long as said remaining portion of land is not being used for the storage of
junk as defined in this chapter.
(3)
On that portion of the premises to be utilized as a junkyard,
and which does not abut or border on a road right-of-way and which is not
visible from said road right-of-way, there shall be implanted shrubbery, bushes
and evergreens or the like at reasonable intervals between each such plant.
(4)
No junk, scrap or automobile bodies, motors or any other
item of junk as defined in this chapter shall be stored, maintained, situated,
placed or otherwise located within 20 feet of any river, stream, run, creek,
irrigation ditch or any other natural watercourse within the boundary lines
of Washington Township.
(5)
No junkyard as defined in this chapter shall be granted
a license under the provisions hereof unless off-street parking is provided
within the property owner's boundary lines.
C.
It is further enacted and ordained that no application
shall be approved by Council or license issued by Council until these standards
and conditions have been complied with.
D.
In the event that a junk dealer or junkyard as defined herein is in existence or operation prior to the effective date of this chapter, the operator or owner of said junk dealership or junkyard shall conform to the standards and conditions set forth in Subsection B(1) through (6) above within 30 days of said effective date, and shall make an application for a license as provided herein within such period.
E.
If the applicant is a partnership or association, the
application shall furnish the above information for every member thereof.
If the applicant is a business corporation, the application shall furnish
the above information for each officer and director thereof. The application
shall be signed by the applicant, if an individual; by all members, if the
applicant is a partnership or association; and by the president and secretary,
if the applicant is a business corporation. A separate application shall be
required for each junkyard conducted by a junk dealer.
In addition to the standards and conditions set forth in § 76-4B(1) through (6) above, which must be satisfied before a license may be issued, any applicant who is licensed to accumulate, store or dispose of junk within Washington Township shall constantly maintain the licensed premises in accordance with the following regulations:
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 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 aboveground in
said junkyards, provided that the same be placed in metal containers specifically
manufactured or constructed for the storage of gasoline. All other gasoline
which is kept in the premises shall be stored underground, which underground
storage must be approved by Council.
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.
Any person licensed under this chapter shall not burn
more than one motor vehicle or its equivalent at any one 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. Burning of vehicles must be attended to and controlled at all times.
F.
All junk stored or maintained in a junkyard licensed
pursuant to this chapter shall be arranged and maintained in a neat and orderly
fashion. All of such junk, vehicles and other junk are to be arranged in rows
with a minimum of 20 feet of clear space between each row and each of said
rows to be no greater in width than 40 feet.
G.
Every structure erected upon the licensed premises and
used in connection therewith shall be of fireproof construction, provided
that nothing contained in this subsection shall apply to existing structures
pertaining to and being used in connection with junkyards presently established
and operating.
H.
No premises licensed as a junkyard under the terms of
this chapter shall exceed 20 acres.
A.
Upon receipt of a proper application as required in § 76-4 above, Council shall:
(1)
Review the application for completeness.
(2)
Cause the Zoning Administrator or his agent to inspect
the premises to be licensed to determine whether or not the premises is in
accordance with the application and otherwise in compliance with the terms
of this chapter.
(3)
Within 30 days of receipt of the application:
(a)
Issue a license to the applicant to accumulate, store
or dispose of junk in Washington Township; or
(b)
Deny the issuance of a license and provide, in writing, the reason(s) for said denial; provided, however, that a license may only be denied for the reason or reasons that the applicant has failed to comply with the standards and conditions set forth in § 76-4 above, or has otherwise submitted an improper application.
B.
Upon approval of the application for license, Council
shall issue to the applicant a license, upon which said license shall be designated
the name of the junk dealer and the address of the premises approved for use
as a junkyard. Such license shall be at all times conspicuously posted upon
the premises licensed thereunder. No such license issued by Council shall
be transferable or assignable by agreement, will, intestacy or otherwise.
Any applicant whose initial or renewal application for a license shall
be denied for cause as hereinbefore specified, and every person who shall
engage or continue to engage in business as a junk dealer in violation of
any of the terms and provisions of this chapter, or who shall keep or store
upon his or other premises two or more motor vehicles which are unlicensed,
inoperable and have no valid current inspection sticker, without first having
obtained a license therefor, shall, within 15 days after registered notice
of such event, remove and clear from the premises or junkyard all junk therein,
as defined in this chapter. If, within such period of 15 days, such denied
applicant or violator fails to fully comply with the provisions of this section,
all such property remaining upon such premises after such period of 15 days
shall be presumed to be abandoned and to be of no value and, at the option
of the Council, the same may be disposed of by the township on behalf of said
denied applicant. The remedies provided for in this section shall be in addition
to any other remedies or penalties provided by law.
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.
Every licensee hereunder shall provide and shall at all times keep and
maintain records, in the English language, of the time of his purchase, acquisition
or receipt of junk, a full and complete description, including trade names,
serial or manufacturer's number, if any, of every article or item of junk
purchased, acquired or received by him; the date and approximate hour of such
purchase, acquisition or receipt; and the name and address of the person from
whom such article or item of junk was purchased, acquired or received. Such
written records shall at all times be subject to the inspection of the Washington
Township Zoning Administrator or his agent for just cause. Such records shall
be retained for a period of five years.
Every licensee hereunder shall keep and retain upon the licensed premises,
for a period of 24 hours after the purchase, acquisition or receipt thereof,
every item or article of junk so purchased, acquired or received by him and
placed on the licensed premises. The licensee shall not disturb or reduce
or alter the original form, shape or condition of the same until such period
of 24 hours shall have elapsed.
A.
The Washington Township Zoning Administrator or his agent
shall from time to time regularly inspect the premises of every licensee hereunder
for the purpose of determining whether said licensee has established and maintained
his premises in full compliance with the provisions of this chapter and such
rules and regulations which may hereafter be adopted by Washington Township
regulating and licensing junk dealers and the establishment and maintenance
of junkyards. The Zoning Administrator or his agent shall forthwith prosecute
any discovered violation of this chapter. The Zoning Administrator or his
agent shall not less than once yearly furnish to Council a report of such
inspections, the same to be in writing and in the form prescribed by Council.
B.
Every junkyard in Washington Township shall at all times
be subject to inspection during reasonable hours of the day by the Township
Zoning Administrator or his agent.
[Amended 12-3-1996 by Ord.
No. 7-96; 7-1-1997 by Ord.
No. 3-97]
B.
Any person who shall violate any of the provisions of
this chapter shall, upon conviction thereof, be required to pay a criminal
fine in the amount of $300 per violation and shall be imprisoned to the extent
allowed by law for the punishment of summary offenses, provided that each
day's violation of any of the provisions of this chapter shall constitute
a separate offense.
