[HISTORY: Adopted by the Borough Council of the Borough of
Masontown 4-10-1972 by Ord. No. 254, approved 4-10-1972. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Garbage, rubbish and refuse — See Ch. 81.
Property maintenance — See Ch. 108.
This chapter shall be known as the "Borough of Masontown Junkyard
and Refuse Ordinance."
Unless otherwise expressly stated, the following words and terms
shall have, for the purposes of this chapter, the meanings herein
indicated:
The Borough of Masontown, Fayette County, Pennsylvania.
The Council of the Borough of Masontown.
Any discarded material or article, including but not limited
to scrap metal or scrapped, abandoned or junked motor vehicles, machinery,
equipment, paper, glass, containers and structures, not including,
however, refuse or garbage kept in a proper container for the purpose
of prompt disposal.
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 Borough of Masontown.
Any place where any junk, as hereinbefore defined, is stored,
disposed of or accumulated.
The permit granted to a person who accumulates, stores or
disposes of junk as hereinbefore defined.
Any partnership, association, firm or corporation.
No person shall operate a junkyard as owner, lessee or otherwise
in the Borough of Masontown until such person has obtained a license
to do so. Such license shall be issued by the Borough of Masontown
and the annual license fee shall be in accordance with the schedule
hereinafter set forth. Such license must be posted upon the licensed
property at all times.
The license provided for in this chapter shall be issued by
the Council after written application shall have been made therefor
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 the license hereinabove
mentioned shall be accompanied by a form, every question of which
must be answered, which form will be supplied by the Council. The
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 Council, the Council shall
issue a license or shall refuse to issue a license to the person applying
therefor 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 borough, both economic and
aesthetic. In the event that the Council shall issue a license, it
may impose upon the license and the person applying therefor 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. Such license shall
be for a term of one year following the date of issue.
A license issued under this chapter shall not be transferred to any other person unless approved by the Council, in writing, after the applicant shall have presented a written application as set forth in § 90-4 of this chapter, together with a transfer fee of $10 which shall not be returned regardless of whether the transfer of the license is approved or refused.
A.
The license fee shall be paid immediately upon the issuance or renewal
of a license. The amount of the license fee shall be calculated in
accordance with the following schedule as determined by the actual
land to be used by the person to whom the license is issued, excluding
setback areas:
B.
No license shall be issued for the use of a tract of land in excess
of 20 acres, excluding setback areas.
No person licensed under this chapter 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
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 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 by such person.
Such book shall at all times be subject to the inspection of an official
of the borough.
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 Council and in the manner prescribed by this section and any
subsequent regulations adopted by the Council:
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 on such premises.
C.
Whenever any motor vehicle shall be received on 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 above
ground in said junkyard, provided that the same is placed in containers
approved by the Council. All other gasoline which is kept on the premises
shall be stored underground, which underground storage must be approved
by the 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.
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 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 and controlled at
all times.
G.
The premises to be licensed shall be set back a minimum distance
of 10 feet from the right-of-way lines on all streets or roads and
a minimum distance of 10 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 Council shall deem it necessary and desirable, the premises
to be licensed shall, at the setback lines, be enclosed by a fence
of a type and style to be determined by the Council or by evergreen
screen plantings, or both. The Council may set forth the fence and
planting requirements at the time of the issuance of the license or
at the time of renewal or transfer of a license.
[Amended 7-26-1988, approved 7-26-1988; 9-13-2016, approved 9-13-2016]
It shall be unlawful to store, park or place any unregistered,
uninspected, inoperative, unlicensed or nuisance motor vehicle for
more than seven consecutive days unless such motor vehicle is stored
in an enclosed permanent structure such that the vehicle is not visible
from outside of said structure and such that the vehicle is not operated
outside of said structure. No vehicle shall, at any time, be in a
state of major disassembly, disrepair or in the process of being stripped
or dismantled. It shall be unlawful to store, park or place any vehicle,
motorized or non-motorized, upon any sidewalk within the Borough of
Masontown.
Any person using or maintaining any public or private property
in the Borough of Masontown and causing or permitting to exist thereon
a nuisance shall, after notice to do so, remove or abate such nuisance
or dangerous structure without delay.
[Amended 6-9-1987 by Ord.
No. 1987-1, approved 6-9-1987]
Any person who shall violate any of the provisions of this chapter
shall, upon conviction as provided by law, be sentenced to pay a fine
of not more than $300 and costs of such proceedings or, upon default
of payment of such fine and costs, by imprisonment in the county jail
for a term of not more than 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; and further, each day's violation of any of the provisions
of this chapter shall constitute a separate offense.
The Council of the Borough of Masontown may institute proceedings
in a Court of Equity to enforce the provisions of this chapter.
