[HISTORY: Adopted by the Borough Council
of the Borough of Trappe as indicated in article histories. Amendments
noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 2-2-1982 by Ord. No. 223 (Part
6, Ch. 2, Art. B, of the 1987 Code)]
This article shall be known and may be cited
as "Trappe Junkyard Ordinance."
Unless otherwise expressly stated, the following
words and phases shall be construed throughout this article to have
the meanings indicated in this section:
The Borough of Trappe, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.
The Council of the Borough of Trappe.
Includes animal or household refuse.
Any discarded material or article and shall include, but
not be limited to scrap metal, scrapped, abandoned, junked motor vehicles,
including the commercial storage of wrecked automobiles, pending disposition
thereof, machinery, equipment, paper, glass, containers and structures.
It shall not include, however, refuse or garbage kept in proper containers
for the purposes of prompt disposal.
Any person as defined in this section who engages in the
business of selling, buying, salvaging and dealing in junk, including
one who commercially stores wrecked automobiles pending disposition
of same, and who maintains and operates a junkyard within the Borough.
Any place where any junk, as defined in this section, is
stored, disposed of or accumulated.
The permit granted to a person who accumulates, stores or
disposes of junk, as defined in this section.
Includes any partnership, association, firm and corporation.
A time determined by Council which shall not be more than
two years and not less than one year from the date a license is obtained
under this article.
No person shall engage in business as a junk
dealer, or maintain a junkyard without first having obtained a license
from Council, for which a license fee shall be paid to the Borough
for the use of the Borough.
The license provided for in this article shall
be issued by Council after written application shall have been made
therefor by the person desiring to be licensed, the license shall
state the name of the person to whom the license is issued and the
premises on which the business is to be conducted, or the junkyard
is to be maintained. The license shall be posted conspicuously upon
the premises licensed under it. The written application for the license
shall be accompanied by a form, every question of which must be answered,
which form will be supplied by Council. The applicant shall also submit
therewith a plot plan of the premises used or to be used in connection
with the license.
Upon receipt of an application by Council, Council shall issue a license or shall refuse to issue a license to the person applying therefor after an examination of the application and a determination that the applicant has complied with the regulations in § 199-12.
A license fee shall be paid immediately upon
the issuance or renewal of a license. The amount of the license fee
shall be as set by resolution of the Borough Council from time to
time[2] for each license issued.
No person licensed under this article shall,
by virtue of one license, keep more than one place of business within
the Borough or maintain more than one junkyard, for the purpose of
buying, selling or 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 licensed issued by Council shall be transferable by the license holder to any other person unless such a transfer is authorized by Council. Any person desiring to transfer his license shall notify Council in writing, which notification shall be accompanied by an application for a license, as described in § 199-4 by the person to whom the license is to be transferred.
In the event that Council approves the transfer
of a license, the person to whom the license is transferred shall
immediately pay to the Borough a transfer fee as set by resolution
of the Borough Council from time to time.[2]
Every person licensed under this article shall
provide and keep a book in which shall be 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 purchase or receipt, and the person from whom that article
or material was purchased or received. That book shall at all times
be subject to the inspection of any official of the Borough or any
police officer of the State of Pennsylvania or its subdivisions. In
the case of motor vehicle, there shall be kept in addition, a personal
description of the person from whom purchased and a complete description
of the purchase which shall include the trade name, and the motor,
body, manufacturer's numbers and any other serial numbers, and the
style of the body, model, color and license number.
Every person licensed under this article 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 article shall
constantly maintain the licensed premises in accordance with any special
provision imposed by Council and in the manner prescribed by this
section and any subsequent regulations adopted by Council. Notwithstanding
this provision, all junkyard dealers within the Borough who have been
licensed under a previous ordinance in relation to junkyards shall
be allowed a reasonable time in which to comply 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.
There shall be erected a fence or wall not less than
six feet in height, nor more than eight feet in height to encompass
the entire junkyard for the purpose of preventing thefts and thereby
reducing law enforcement problems. The fence or wall shall be constructed
of materials of sufficient strength in order to carry out the purpose
of this regulation.
D.
In order to allow fire and emergency equipment to
maneuver within junkyards to prevent the spread of fires, there shall
be a twenty-foot space between rows of junk within the junkyard. Access
drives should be made of stone and 25 feet in width, and the width
of rows should be no wider than 35 feet, with a maximum row length
of no more than 100 feet for fire protection and safety.
E.
No more than two vehicles can be stacked on top of
one another. All other junk shall be stacked in a manner and to a
height which does not exceed the height limit of the fence which surrounds
the junkyard.
F.
There shall be strict compliance with state and federal
statutes, and regulations concerning storing and disposal of hazardous
waste, including compliance with the Solid Waste Disposal Act and
the Resources Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976, as well as all
regulations of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department
of Environmental Protection, and the Department of Transportation,
concerning the disposal, transportation, storage, and removal of waste
and hazardous waste.
G.
The operation of the junkyard shall be limited to
between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m.
H.
All gas tanks of any junked vehicles or discarded
containers shall be emptied of any gas and shall be detoxified by
filling the same with water.
An official of the Borough is required to regularly inspect the premises of every license holder to determine if the license holder is in full compliance with the regulations as set forth in § 199-12. Further, that official is required to report, not less than twice yearly, in writing, to Council the conditions of the junkyard.
Any person who violates any provision of this
article shall, upon conviction by a summary proceeding, be sentenced
to pay a fine of not more than $300 and costs of prosecution, and,
in default of payment of fine and costs, to imprisonment for not more
than 30 days; provided, each day's violation of any provision of this
article shall constitute a separate offense.
In addition to the remedies provided in § 199-14, any continued violation of this article which constitutes a nuisance in fact or which shall, in the opinion of Council, constitute a nuisance, may be abated by proceeding against the violator in a Court of Equity for relief.
[Adopted 1-5-1988 by Ord. No. 249 (Part
5, Ch. 2, of the 1987 Code)]
A.
The accumulation or storage of junked, abandoned or
discarded vehicles, trailers, boats, appliances and household furnishings
creates a hazard and danger to the health and welfare of people of
the Borough.
B.
The accumulation or storage of junked, abandoned or
discarded vehicles, trailers, boats, appliances or household furnishings
provides a breeding area for rodents and other unhealthful animals.
C.
The accumulation or storage of junked, abandoned or
discarded vehicles, trailers, boats, appliances or household furnishings
creates an attractive nuisance for children who are not aware of the
danger involved in them.
D.
The accumulation or storage of junked, abandoned or
discarded vehicles, trailers, boats, appliances or household furnishings
violates all concepts of ecological and environmental principles.
As used in this article, the following words
and terms shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section:
Any item resting for 96 hours or more and which is inoperable,
without current registration plates or certificate of inspection,
or in such a condition as to be unusable.
A stove, refrigerator, television set, furnace, water heater,
water softener, washer, dryer or mangle, any household article used
to perform any of the necessary work in a household, and any article
used in business to increase production or to speed, ease or eliminate
work.
Any vessel capable of transporting a person on any river,
stream, creek, lake or ocean.
Any item resting for 96 hours or more with no known or apparent
owner.
All items normally found and used in a home.
Items sold or to be sold for scrap, being stripped or being
used or sold for parts.
A wheeled device used as a means of carrying, hauling or
conveying any vehicle, person, animal, object or boat.
An automobile, motorcycle, motorbike, minibike, bicycle,
go-cart, truck or other wheeled means of conveyance, motorized or
self-propelled.
It shall be unlawful for any person to accumulate
or store any junked, abandoned or discarded vehicle, trailer, boat,
appliance or household furnishing on private or public property within
the Borough.
Any person who violates any provision of this chapter shall, upon conviction, be subject to the penalty prescribed by § 1-2.
