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Township of Spring, PA
Centre County
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Table of Contents
Table of Contents
[Ord. 71-1966, 6/13/1966, § 1]
The following words and phrases shall be construed throughout this Part to have the meanings herein indicated:
BOARD
The Board of Supervisors of Spring Township, Centre County, Pennsylvania.
JUNK
Any discharged material or article and shall include, but not be limited to, abandoned, junked or scrapped motor vehicles (not bearing a current registration), machinery, equipment, paper, containers and structures, scrap metal and other waste material, but shall not include garbage or refuse kept by a person on his own property in a proper container for the purpose of immediate disposal.
JUNK DEALER
Any person as defined hereinafter who shall engage in the business of buying, selling, dealing and salvaging in junk and who maintains and operates a junkyard within the Township of Spring.
JUNKYARD
Any place where any junk as hereinafter defined is stored, disposed of or accumulated.
LICENSE
The permit granted to a person who accumulates, stores or disposes of junk as hereinbefore defined.
PERSON
Includes a natural person, association, partnership, firm or corporation. The singular shall include the plural and the masculine shall include the feminine and the neuter.
TOWNSHIP
Spring Township, Centre County, Pennsylvania.
[Ord. 71-1966, 6/13/1966, § 2]
This Part may be cited and shall be known as the "Spring Township Junkyard and Junk Dealers Ordinance."
[Ord. 71-1966, 6/13/1966, § 3; as amended by Ord. 09-00, 10/2/2000]
From and after the effective day of this Part, no person shall maintain a junkyard or engage in the business as a junk dealer in the Township without first having obtained a license from the Board, for which license a fee in an amount as established, from time to time, by resolution of the Board of Supervisors shall be paid to the Township for the use of the Township. The license shall be issued for the twelve-month period beginning January 1 and ending December 31, and such license shall be renewed annually or before January 1 of each year.
[Ord. 71-1966, 6/13/1966, § 4]
Any person desiring to engage in the business of a junk dealer or maintain a junkyard shall make application to the Secretary of the Board on a written application form, which application form shall be secured from the Secretary of the Board. The written application for license shall be signed by the applicant, shall be accompanied by the license fee hereinafter provided for and shall be accompanied with a plot or a survey of the premises desired to be used or then in use by the applicant in connection with such license, which said survey shall show the location of the premises to be used with reference to public roads and any buildings, either public or private; such plot shall also include a topographic survey showing the drainage of the area which the applicant desires to use in connection with the license.
[Ord. 71-1966, 6/13/1966, § 5; as amended by Ord. 09-00, 10/2/2000]
The license fee shall be paid immediately upon the issuance or renewal of a license. The amount of the license fee shall be in an amount as established by resolution of the Board of Supervisors.
[Ord. 71-1966, 6/13/1966, § 6]
Upon receipt of an application for a license by the Board, the Board shall review the application and shall issue a license or refuse to issue the same after due examination of the application and taking into consideration the suitability of the property proposed to be used by the licensee, the character of the adjunct properties and what effect the proposed use by the licensee would have upon the health, welfare, economic and aesthetic value of the Township. In the event the Board determines to issue the license, it may impose upon the license such terms and conditions, in addition to the regulations herein contained and any other regulations adopted pursuant to this Part, as may be necessary to carry out the intent of this Part. The license, when issued, shall state the name of the person to whom the license is issued, shall describe the premises on which the business is to be conducted or the junkyard maintained, and such license shall be conspicuously posted upon the license premises by the licensee. Such license shall be limited to the place of business indicated on the license and no person licensed under this Part shall keep or maintain more than one place of business within the Township and no person, after having secured a license, shall engage in business as a junk dealer in any other place in the Township other than that designated upon his license.
[Ord. 71-1966, 6/13/1966, § 7]
Any license issued by the Board shall not be transferable by the licensee to any other person. In the event the licensee discontinues business, the license shall be promptly surrendered to the Board, and any new owner desiring to conduct the business shall make application for new license in accordance with § 13-304 of this Part.
[Ord. 71-1966, 6/13/1966, § 8]
Every licensee who shall secure a license under the provisions of this Part shall keep an accurate record in a book which shall be open to inspection at any time by the officials of the Township which records shall disclose a description of every article or material purchased or received by the licensee, the date and hour of such purpose or receipt, the person from whom the article or junk material was purchased, which records shall be kept for a period of two years after each license year. These records shall be written in the English language and shall be, at all times, open to and subject to the inspection few any official of the Township.
[Ord. 71-1966, 6/13/1966, § 9]
Every person licensed under this Part 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 after the original form, shape or condition until such period of 48 hours shall have elapsed.
[Ord. 71-1966, 6/13/1966, § 10]
1. 
In order to carry out the intent and purposes of the Second Class Township Code and the provisions of this Part, the Supervisors hereby adopted the following regulations, which regulations every person licensed under this Part shall comply with and shall maintain a copy on the licensed premises; and the Supervisors shall have the power to pass subsequent regulations which shall become part of the regulations adopted by this Board.
A. 
The premises to be licensed shall be setback a minimum distance of 25 feet from the right-of-way lines on all streets or roads and a minimum distance of 25 feet from all other property lines. The area between the setback line and the right-of-way in all streets and roads and all other property lines shall be at all times kept clear and vacant.
B. 
The premises licensed for a junkyard under the terms of this Part shall at all times be kept and maintained so as not to constitute a nuisance or a menace to the health of the community or of the residents who lie nearby or a place for the breeding and housing of vermin, rodents and other animals.
C. 
The junk stored and arranged on the licensed premises and the drainage facilities of the premises shall be so arranged to as to prevent at all times the accumulation of stagnant water upon the licensed premises.
D. 
No rubbish, ashes, garbage, refuse or other organic waste shall be stored upon any licensed premises.
E. 
All junk kept, stored or arranged on the licensed premises shall be so kept, stored and arranged so as to provide access for firefighting purposes.
F. 
Any motor vehicles which shall be received on the licensed premises for storage as junk, the licensee shall drain all gasoline and oil therefrom immediately after receiving the same. Gasoline in excess of 10 gallons may not be stored above the ground but shall be stored only in underground storage, which underground storage must be approved by the Board.
G. 
No material, grease, tires, gasoline, oil or other dangerous materials shall be burned within the junkyard at any time which might tend to produce obnoxious or harmful smoke or odors. Motor vehicles may be burned providing not more than one is burned at a time and providing that the licensee or one of his employees is in attendance and control of the burning vehicle at all times.
H. 
The Board reserves the right to prescribe that any premises to be licensed shall be enclosed by a fence in order to maintain the economic and aesthetic value of the Township. The board shall prescribe in the license the type and height of the fence which shall be erected by the licensee before the premises are used as a junkyard.
I. 
No premises shall be licensed if they are located adjacent to build up areas or other housing areas so that the conduct of a junkyard would interfere with the health, sanitation and economic use of the premises.
[Ord. 71-1966, 6/13/1966, § 11]
In the event any licensee violates any of the terms and provisions of this Part, or any of the regulations prescribed by virtue of said Part, or any of the terms and conditions of his license, the Board shall have the right to revoke said license and upon the revocation of the same, the licensee shall no longer be permitted to conduct the business under the terms of said license.
[Ord. 71-1966, 6/13/1966, § 12; as amended by Ord. 118-1968, 10/7/1968, § 1; and by Ord. 09-00, 10/2/2000]
Any person, firm or corporation who shall violate any provisions of this Part, upon conviction thereof in an action brought before a district justice in the manner provided for the enforcement of summary offenses under the Pennsylvania Rules of Criminal Procedure, shall be sentenced to pay a fine of not more than $1,000 plus costs and, in default of payment of said fine and costs, to a term of imprisonment not to exceed 90 days. Each day that a violation of this part continues or each section of this Part which shall be found to have been violated shall constitute a separate offense.
[Ord. 71-1966, 6/13/1966, § 13]
In addition to the other remedies provided in this Part, the Board shall have the power to institute proceedings in a court of equity to enjoin any continued violation of this Part which shall constitute a nuisance, and the Board shall determine if such violation constitutes a nuisance and, in the event it does, such nuisance may be abated by proceedings against the violator in the court of equity for relief.