[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Onondaga 10-20-1971 by L.L. No.
5-1971. Amendments noted where applicable.]
While recognizing that highway vehicle service stations are
a necessary business, they should be properly regulated, and legislation
is necessary in order to promote the health, welfare, safety and morals
of the residents of the Town of Onondaga to insure by this chapter
a method of properly regulating the construction, operation and maintenance
of such highway vehicle service stations.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
Any area of land, including any building or buildings thereon,
used or heretofore used for the servicing of motor vehicles used or
capable of being used on highways, and/or supplying gasoline, diesel
oil or other energy for the propulsion of such motor vehicles.
A.
Highway vehicle service stations shall be under the control of an
attendant at all times during hours of operation and used only for
the sale of gasoline, oils and greases, batteries, tires and automobile
accessories supplied and dispensed directly to the motor vehicle trade,
at retail, automobile inspections, and minor repairs, which shall
be the sale and servicing of spark plugs and batteries; tire repair
and servicing; replacement of mufflers, tail pipes, shock absorbers,
water hose, fan belts, brake and transmission fluids, light bulbs,
windshield wipers, grease retainers and wheel bearings; radiator cleaning
and flushing; washing and polishing; greasing and lubrication; installation
of fuel pumps and fuel lines; minor servicing and replacement of carburetors;
emergency wiring repairs; adjustment and installation of brakes; tuning
engines, except for grinding valves, cleaning carbon or removing the
head of engines and/or crankcases. None of the aforesaid minor repairs
shall be performed at any time after the hour fixed for closing herein.
B.
Highway vehicle service stations shall not be used for major repairs
which are any general repairs, rebuilding or reconditioning not hereinbefore
listed as a minor repair; or for any collision service, including
body, frame or fender straightening or repairs; painting or paint
shop.
C.
Mechanical and/or automatic car wash facilities may be installed
in highway vehicle service stations upon issuance of a permit by the
Town Board of the Town of Onondaga after due notice and a public hearing
thereon. Notice of such hearing shall be published once at least 10
days and not more than 20 days before the date of the hearing in the
official newspaper of the Town of Onondaga.
D.
Self-service stations.
[Added 8-3-1981 by L.L. No. 3-1981]
(1)
Highway vehicle service stations with self-service fuel dispensing
shall be permitted but only if all of the following requirements are
met with respect to the self-service operation:
(a)
Each such station shall be equipped with a control device which
monitors the dispensing of fuel. Such device shall be situated in
such a manner as to give the attendant an optimum view of the fuel-dispensing
equipment.
(b)
No fuel shall be dispensed unless a duly qualified attendant
is present on the premises. It shall be the responsibility of the
owner and operator of the service station to assure that the attendant
is well trained and fully informed on the proper handling, care and
operation of the fuel-dispensing equipment, including its emergency
operation, and of the fire-protection system.
(c)
Each fuel-pump island and any other location on the premises
at which fuel is dispensed shall be equipped with a fire-protection
system consisting of an automatic dry chemical extinguisher with a
manual override capability and approved by the National Fire Protection
Association; said system shall be inspected annually and serviced
when necessary by a qualified fire protection system contractor.
(d)
Each such station shall have an emergency electric shutoff system
which shall operate automatically whenever the fire protection system
activates and which shall be capable of shutting down the entire fueling
facility.
(e)
All fuel pumps shall have a remote reset capability operated
by the attendant.
(f)
A control shall be provided that will permit the fuel pumps
to operate only when the dispensing nozzle is removed from its bracket
on the dispensing unit and the switch for said dispensing unit has
been manually activated. This control shall also stop the fuel pump
when the nozzle has been returned to its bracket.
(g)
All of the aforementioned devices, equipment, controls and facilities
shall be periodically inspected by the owner or operator of the station
and shall be kept in good working order at all times. Fire extinguishers
shall be refilled as soon as reasonably practicable after discharge.
(h)
Devices which permit fuel to be dispensed without the necessity
of a person applying continuous pressure to the lever on the dispensing
nozzle shall not be permitted.
(i)
Fuels may be dispensed by only those customers who have a valid
motor vehicle operator's license.
(2)
All highway vehicle service stations with self-service fuel dispensing
in existence on the effective date of this subsection shall have a
period of 180 days after said effective date to comply with the provisions
thereof.
Highway vehicle service stations shall be closed not later than
11:00 p.m., and all external lights shall be extinguished at that
time, and such station shall not be reopened prior to 6:00 a.m., except
that highway vehicle service stations may be permitted to be open
for additional hours upon issuance of a permit by the Town Board of
the Town of Onondaga after due notice and a public hearing thereon.
Notice of such hearing shall be published once at least 10 days and
not more than 20 days before the date of the hearing in the official
newspaper of the Town of Onondaga.
A.
All vehicles at highway vehicle service stations shall be stored within a building when the station is not open for business, except that licensed vehicles at the station for minor repairs, as defined in § 214-3A of this chapter, may be left outside. However, no such vehicle shall remain outside any longer than 72 hours. At no time shall any unlicensed or dismantled automobiles, trucks, tractors, trailers and similar equipment or any parts or accessories thereof be outside of a building.
B.
There shall be no outside storage or display of accessories or portable
signs when highway vehicle service stations are not open for business.
Such stations shall not be used for the sale, rent or display of automobiles,
trucks, trailers, mobile homes, boats, snowmobiles or other vehicles.
C.
Except as herein prohibited, highway vehicle service stations may
sell miscellaneous items not necessarily associated with automotive
vehicles, nonalcoholic beverages and items through automatic vending
machines.
D.
Rubbish, oil cans, tires, discarded motor vehicle parts and components
and other waste materials may be temporarily stored in a completely
fenced-in opaque enclosure adjacent to the highway vehicle service
station building, and the area of such enclosure shall not exceed
5% of the area of the principal highway service station building.
There shall be no storage of any said items at any time outside of
such enclosure.
There shall be no signs or appurtenances connected with any
highway vehicle service station which are moving, rotating or animated
in any other way, or illuminated by flashing, blinking, fluctuating
or other form of animated light.
All lighting shall be shielded so as not to shine directly upon
adjacent properties or towards users of adjacent public highways.
All storage facilities for fuel oil, gasoline or similar substances
installed after the effective date of this chapter shall be underground
and at least 25 feet from any and all lot lines. Tanks shall be installed
and maintained in accordance with the standards of the National Board
of Fire Underwriters and the following specific standards:
A.
Prior to installation, the Town shall be provided with a copy of
the specifications and the date of the proposed installation. No tank
shall be covered until inspection and approval by the Town, and the
decision of the Town as to the quality of materials and the adequacy
of the installation shall be final.
B.
The operator, owner or lessee of any highway vehicle service station
shall keep a daily record of the amount of gasoline in all installed
tanks, the amount removed and the amount inserted. This record shall
be available to the Town or its authorized representatives on demand
at any reasonable business hour. The operator, owner or lessee of
such highway vehicle service station shall make a report consisting
of a summary of these records available to the Town annually, or more
frequently if requested by the Town, and shall certify to the Town
in this report that there is no leakage; or, if there is evidence
of such leakage, a detailed explanation of same and whether such leakage
has been stopped, together with such additional information as the
Town may require.
C.
If at any time a leak is detected through the foregoing method, or
any other method, the owner and/or lessee of the highway vehicle service
station shall make the necessary repairs forthwith. If, in the sole
discretion of the Town or its authorized representatives, the condition
results in a threat to public safety, the highway vehicle service
station may be shut down until repairs are made.
D.
In the event of any violations of the provisions of this section,
the Town shall have the right to order operation of the highway vehicle
service station shut down until such time as the conditions are corrected.
In the event of failure to comply with said order and correct the
conditions, the Town, within 24 hours after issuing such order, may
cause the condition to be corrected and collect all expenses therefrom
directly from the owner and/or lessee of such service station; and
in the event of failure of payment, all such costs and expenses shall
be added to the next annual tax bill covering the property on which
such highway vehicle service station is located and collected in the
same manner as unpaid taxes. In the event that a condition develops
which in the sole discretion of the Town is a threat to public safety,
the twenty-four-hour period shall not be applicable.
A.
In the event that a highway vehicle service station is not used for
a period of three months, wherein there is no continuous business
operation for at least four continuous weeks in said three-month period,
as measured from the first day of nonuse, then the owner and/or lessee
of such highway vehicle service station shall immediately remove the
tanks and gasoline pumps from the site of same. In lieu of removing
the tanks, said owner and/or lessee shall remove the gasoline therefrom
and fill all tanks with water or solid material.
B.
In the event that the operation of any highway vehicle service station is discontinued for a period of three years after the effective date of this chapter, wherein there is no continuous operation for a period of at least three continuous months out of said three-year period, then the same shall be considered as abandoned, and all buildings shall be removed and the property leveled, graded, landscaped and seeded. This § 214-9B shall not be applicable where the highway vehicle service station has been converted to a use permitted pursuant to Chapter 285, Zoning, of the Code of the Town of Onondaga.
C.
In the event of failure to comply with any of the foregoing within
30 days after the issuance of a written directive to do so by the
Town, then the Town may take such steps as are deemed necessary to
enforce these conditions and add all costs and expenses incurred to
the next annual tax bill covering the property on which said highway
vehicle service station is located and collect the same in the same
manner as unpaid taxes.
[Amended 9-15-1986 by L.L. No. 2-1986]
A.
Each highway vehicle service station shall have a buffer zone on
each property line adjoining a residential zone and not abutting a
street, planted with at least a double row of conifer trees, at least
eight feet high on six-foot centers. Plantings shall be properly bedded
when planted, maintained and fertilized to assure long life and growth.
B.
As an alternative to the foregoing, a buffer or ornamental fencing
may be constructed after issuance of a permit for the same by the
Town Board.
C.
As a further alternative to the foregoing, upon approval of the Town
Board, the buffer zone herein mandated may consist of an area of vacant
land owned by the owner of the service station and having at least
20 feet in width between the service station and the adjacent residential
zone. In such instances, the twenty-foot buffer zone may not be used
in any way or manner in connection with the service station operation.
[Amended 9-15-1986 by L.L. No. 2-1986]
All highway vehicle service stations within the Town of Onondaga, whether in existence or hereafter constructed, shall comply with the provisions of this chapter and any amendments thereto from and after the effective date of said chapter or amendments. Highway vehicle service stations in existence on the effective date of this chapter shall have a period of 90 days after said effective date to comply with the provisions thereof, except that such stations shall have until September 1, 1987, to comply with the buffer-zone requirements set forth in § 214-10 hereof.
[Amended 9-15-1986 by L.L. No. 2-1986]
The provisions of this chapter shall be enforced by the Codes
Enforcement Officer of the Town of Onondaga.
Any and every violation of the provisions of this chapter shall
be deemed to be an offense against this chapter, punishable by a fine
not exceeding $1,000 or by imprisonment not to exceed one year, or
both. Each day's continued violation of this chapter, after written
notice thereof, shall constitute a separate and additional violation.
In addition to the above-provided penalty, or in lieu thereof, the
Town Board may also maintain an action or proceeding in the name of
the Town in a court of competent jurisdiction to compel compliance
with or to restrain by injunction the violation of such chapter.
