[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of LeRoy 2-14-1967. Amendments
noted where applicable.]
A.
This chapter shall be known as and may be cited as the "Junkyard
Licensing Ordinance of the Town of LeRoy."
B.
By the adoption of this chapter, the Town Board of the Town of LeRoy
declares its intent in so doing to regulate, control and license practices
which are included in the definition of junkyard, and the Town Board
hereby recognizes and acknowledges the following:
(1)
That junkyards are a valid and necessary service in that they provide
areas for disposal by citizens of used, unwanted or abandoned material
and ought to be encouraged when not in conflict with this chapter.
(2)
That they produce noise, litter and smoke.
(3)
That they are attractive and potentially dangerous to children.
(4)
That they generate traffic.
(5)
That they are a potential market for stolen goods.
(6)
That they are potential locations for fire, thievery and injury.
(7)
That when they are not restricted and controlled, they detract from
a clean, wholesome, attractive environment which has been declared
to be of importance to the health and safety of the inhabitants of
the State of New York.
A.
APPLIANCES
AUTOMOBILES
JUNKYARD
PERSON
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings
indicated:
Stoves, refrigerators, freezers, water or oil tanks, automatic
washers or dryers, wringer-type washers or any other type of machinery
or equipment of a similar nature regardless of whatever material it
may be constructed.
Includes passenger cars, trucks, commercial tractor trailer
units or parts thereof, motorbikes, motorcycles and buses.
A lot of land or part thereof used for the collecting, storage
and/or sale of wastepaper, rags, scrap metal or discarded material
or for the collecting, dismantling, storage or salvaging of machinery,
appliances or vehicles or parts thereof. Two or more unlicensed automobiles,
used appliances or used units of machinery shall constitute a "junkyard."
However, this chapter shall not apply to any franchised dealership
in new automobiles or farm machinery where the display and sale of
used automobiles or machinery is essential to the proper conduct of
the dealer's business; nor shall it apply to any dealership in new
appliances where said business is conducted entirely within a building
or buildings; nor shall it apply to any farm if said used machinery
has been employed for farm operations on the farm on which it is stored
for five days during the preceding 12 months, but in no event shall
this exemption of farm machinery apply to automobiles or appliances
nor shall it apply to commercial tractor trailer units or commercial
trucks if said unit or truck has been licensed for three months during
the preceding 12 months.
An individual, an association, partnership or corporation.
B.
All other words used in this chapter shall carry their customary
meanings; words used in the present tense include the future, and
the plural includes the singular.
No person shall engage in or conduct on real property within
the Town of LeRoy, either by himself or by or on behalf of any other
person directly or indirectly as an agent, employee or otherwise,
any activity or business for profit or otherwise, at wholesale or
retail, which involves the collection, storage or burning, dumping,
disassembling, dismantling, salvaging, sorting or otherwise handling
or arranging for sale, resale, storage or disposal of any material
or property which would constitute a junkyard without first obtaining
a license therefor as hereinafter provided.
A.
Each applicant for a license shall execute, under oath, an application
therefor, to be supplied by him by the Town Clerk, which shall contain
the following information:
(1)
That the applicant is over the age of 21 years.
(2)
That he is a citizen of the United States and a resident of the Town
of LeRoy.
(3)
That he has not been convicted of a crime in any jurisdiction.
(4)
A description of the exact type of business he intends to conduct.
(5)
The material or materials he intends to handle.
(6)
The number of employees he intends to employ.
(7)
The name and address of the owner or owners of the land and the nature
of the right of occupancy of the applicant for the use of said land.
(8)
The approximate acreage he intends to devote to a junkyard.
(9)
The approximate total acreage of the land owned, rented or leased,
subleased or purchased on contract.
B.
At the time of making such application, the applicant shall submit
to and file with said Town Clerk a map or plan, drawn to scale, of
the real property upon which he intends to conduct his proposed junkyard.
Such map shall contain property boundaries, the location of the fence
required hereinafter, the location of any buildings on such land and
the location of any street or highway abutting or passing through
such land, the location of any water, sewer or gas lines or mains
and the general drainage pattern of such lands.
C.
In the application, the applicant shall agree that if granted the
license, he will conduct the junkyard pursuant to regulations hereinafter
set forth and that upon his failure to do so, the license may be revoked
forthwith.
A.
A person presently maintaining or conducting a junkyard on real property
within said Town of LeRoy must apply for a license therefor within
30 days of the effective date of this chapter. If the place where
he conducts such activity or business complies with the requirements
set forth herein, he shall be issued a license therefor. If the place
where he conducts such activity or business does not presently comply
with said requirements, he may be granted a temporary permit for a
period of one year, during which time he must arrange the place where
he conducts such a junkyard so that it does then comply with the requirements
of this chapter. If at the end of such year such person has not so
arranged his junkyard, he shall forthwith cease and desist from such
activity and shall remove from such real property all material in
violation of this chapter. If such person does not remove said violating
material, the Town of LeRoy, upon 30 days' notice to the owner of
the real property on which said material is located, may remove such
material to the Town dump and may charge the owner the cost of such
removal. Such cost shall be a lien upon the real property, and said
Town may sue the owner of the said real property to recover the same.
B.
If the person conducting such a junkyard is not the sole owner of
the real property where the junkyard is to be maintained, he shall
so state on his application, and said Town Clerk at the time of the
issuing of a temporary permit shall send to the owner or owners a
notice of the issuance of such temporary permit, together with a copy
of this chapter.
A.
The fee for the license shall be set from time to time by resolution
of the Town Board, which sum is to be used for the cost of issuing
the license and the cost of making the necessary inspections of the
premises to ascertain the compliance of the regulations hereinafter
prescribed. In the event that an applicant for a license, as provided
herein, has previously been issued a valid and effective junk dealer's
license pursuant to the General Business Law of New York, such applicant
shall be entitled to and allowed a credit against the above-provided
license fee upon proof of payment for such junk dealer's license.
[Amended 9-25-1989 by L.L. No. 1-1989[1]]
B.
Such license shall be effective from the date of its issuance until
the 31st day of December of the year of the issuance.
C.
Any licensee who desires to continue such junkyard beyond the termination
of any license period shall make an application for a renewal of said
license to said Town Clerk at least 30 days before the expiration
of the existing license.
D.
Such license is personal with the licensee and may not be sold, assigned
or transferred or otherwise disposed of and does not pass to any new
owner of the real property.
E.
Such license shall be placed and at all times displayed in a conspicuous
place on the real property used as such junkyard.
F.
Such license may be revoked by said Town Board for violation of this chapter or for the conviction of any crime, but only after a public hearing thereon. The licensee shall receive 30 days' notice of such hearing and shall have an opportunity to be heard and to be represented by counsel at such a hearing. If such license is revoked, the Town Board may proceed as in the case of an applicant for a temporary permit who fails to qualify for a license, as provided in § 96-5.
A.
The licensee must personally manage and be responsible for the junkyard
for which the license is granted.
B.
The licensee must either personally or by an agent or agents be present
on the premises during the business hours of said junkyard, and such
licensee shall not permit or suffer, either by omission or commission,
any violation of any law, ordinance, rule or regulation, whether state,
federal or local, and shall not permit any person under the age of
15 years upon the premises, unless accompanied by his or her parent
or guardian.
[Amended 9-25-1989 by L.L. No. 1-1989]
C.
The licensee must erect and maintain in good condition an opaque
fence at least eight feet in height surrounding his junkyard; said
fence shall effectively screen all material within the enclosure from
the view from any highway or road and shall be equipped with a gate
of the same height and construction, which gate shall be closed and
locked during all times when the licensee or his agent shall not be
within said enclosure. Such fence shall be not less than 200 feet
from a highway right-of-way or property line and shall meet approval
of the Town Board or its representative as to the compliance with
the intent of this chapter. All material shall be kept within the
enclosure of said fence, except as removal shall be necessary for
the transportation of the same in the reasonable course of business,
but in no event shall any material be kept outside the fenced area
for a period of more than 18 hours. All wrecking, salvaging, burning,
dismantling, disassembling or other work shall be accomplished within
the enclosed area. Where the topography, natural growth of timber
or other material or growth accomplish the purpose of this subsection
in whole or part, the fence requirements of this subsection may be
reduced by the Zoning Board of Appeals of the Town of LeRoy upon granting
the license; provided, however, that said natural barrier conforms
with the purposes of this chapter.[1]
D.
A strip of land 16 feet in width shall be maintained around the inside
perimeter of the enclosure which shall be kept free of all grass or
other growth and any or all material so as to provide a fire lane
or firebreak around the entire area where the junkyard is being conducted.
E.
There shall be maintained at each junkyard at least one five-pound
80-2 dry-powder fire extinguisher of approved design and capacity
for each 10,000 square feet of area enclosed. Each fire extinguisher
shall be hung or mounted in a conspicuous place, clearly marked, in
good working condition.
F.
The area used by the licensee for a junkyard shall not be used for
the disposal of garbage or other organic material.
G.
The Town Code Enforcement Officer of said Town shall be granted access
to the junkyard area to inspect the same for compliance herewith.
[Amended 9-25-1989 by L.L. No. 1-1989]
A.
The owner of any real property on which a junkyard is located and/or
any licensee who commits or permits, any act in violation of any provisions
of this chapter shall be deemed to have committed an offense and shall
be liable for such violation or penalty therefor. Each day such violation
shall continue or be permitted to exist shall constitute a separate
violation.
B.
For every violation of any provision of this chapter, the person
violating the same shall be subject to a fine of not more than $250
or imprisonment not exceeding 15 days, or both.
[Amended 9-25-1989 by L.L. No. 1-1989]
C.
Conviction for any of the above-mentioned violations shall constitute
and effect an immediate forfeiture of the license. Any person violating
this chapter shall be subject to a civil penalty enforceable and collectible
by said Town in the amount of $100 for each such offense. Such penalty
shall be collectible by and in the name of the Town for each day that
such violation shall continue.
D.
In addition to the above-provided penalties and punishment, said
Town Board may also maintain an action or proceeding, in the name
of said Town, in a court of competent jurisdiction, to compel compliance
with or to restrain by injunction the violation of this chapter.