[Ord. 5/7/1986, § 8-101]
This Part shall be known and may be cited as "East Fallowfield
Township Junkyard and Refuse Ordinance."
[Ord. 5/7/1986, § 8-102; as amended by Ord. 5/20/1991]
Unless otherwise expressly stated, the following words and phrases
shall be construed throughout this Part to have the meaning herein
indicated:
BOARD
The Board of Supervisors of East Fallowfield Township.
JUNK
Any discarded material or articles and shall include, but
not be limited to scrap metal, scrapped, abandoned, or junked motor
vehicle and/or components thereof, machinery, equipment, paper, glass,
containers, and structures, including used lumber, used plumbing supplies
and other used building materials. Small amount of materials reasonably
and normally accumulated by private families only shall be exempt
and permitted without special written application as aforesaid.
JUNK DEALER
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 Township of East Fallowfield.
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 any individual, partnership, association, firm,
and corporation.
TOWNSHIP
East Fallowfield Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania.
[Ord. 5/7/1986, § 8-103]
No person shall engage in a business as a junkyard without first
having obtained a license from the Board, for which a license fee
in accordance with the schedule hereinafter set forth shall be paid
to the Township for use of the Township. The license shall be issued
for the twelve-month period beginning January 1, and ending December
31 of each year, and each license must be renewed annually on or before
the first day of January of each year.
[Ord. 5/7/1986, § 8-104]
The license provided for in this Part shall be issued by the
Board 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 license herein above mentioned
shall be accompanied by a form, every question of which must be answered,
which form will be supplied by the Board. Applicants shall also submit
therewith a plot of the premises used or to be used in connection
with such license.
[Ord. 5/7/1986, § 8-105; as amended by Ord. 5/20/1991]
Upon receipt of an application by the Board, the Board shall
issue a license or shall refuse to issue a license to the person applying
therefore after an examination of the application and taking into
consideration the suitability of the property proposed to be used
for the purposes of license, the character of the properties located
nearby, and the effect of the proposed use upon the safety, health,
and general welfare of the Township, taking into account such factors
as economics and aesthetics. In the event the Board shall issue a
license, it may impose upon the license and the person applying therefore
such terms and conditions in addition to the regulations herein contained
and adopted pursuant to this Part as may be deemed proper and necessary
to carry out the spirit and intent of this Part.
[Ord. 5/7/1986, § 8-106; as amended by Ord. 5/20/1991;
and by Ord. 2010-01, 3/23/2010]
1. The license fee shall be paid immediately upon the issuance of renewal
of a license. The amount of license fee, which shall be established
from time to time by resolution of the Board of Supervisors, shall
be calculated in accordance with the schedule as determined by the
actual land to be used or available for use, by the person to whom
the license is issued, excluding all setback areas.
2. No license shall be issued for the use of a tract of land in excess
of 20 acres, excluding setback areas.
[Ord. 5/7/1986, § 8-107; as amended by Ord. 5/20/1991]
No person licensed under this Part shall, by virtue of one license,
keep more than one place of business within the Township 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.
Multiple sites require multiple licenses.
[Ord. 5/7/1986, § 8-108]
No license issued by the Board shall be transferable by the licensee to any person unless such a transfer is authorized by the Board. Any person desiring to transfer his license shall notify the Board in writing, which notification shall be accompanied by an application for a license, as described in §
13-204 of this Part, by the transferee.
[Ord. 5/7/1986, § 8-109; as amended by Ord. 2010-01,
3/23/2010]
In the event the Board shall approve the transfer of a license
the transferee shall immediately pay to the Township a transfer fee,
in an amount as established from time to time by resolution of the
Board of Supervisors.
[Ord. 5/7/1986, § 8-110]
Every person, licensed under this Part shall provide and shall
constantly keep a book, in which shall be fairly written down in the
English language at the time of purchase of any junk, a description
of every article or material purchased or received by him, the date
and hour of such purchase and the person from whom such article or
material was purchased, received or handled by such person and which
book shall at all times be subject to the inspection of any official
of the Township.
[Ord. 5/7/1986, § 8-11]
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 alter the original form, shape,
or condition until such period of 48 hours shall have elapsed.
[Ord. 5/7/1986, § 8-112; as amended by Ord. 5/20/1991]
1. Every person licensed under this Part shall constantly maintain the
licensed premises in accordance with any special provisions imposed
by the Board and in the manner prescribed by this section and any
subsequent regulations adopted by the Board:
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 breeding rodents and vermin.
B. No garbage or other organic waste shall be stored in such premises.
C. Whenever any motor vehicle shall be received in 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 junkyards provided the same be placed in containers
approved by the Board. All other gasoline which is kept in the premises
shall be stored underground, which underground storage must be approved
by the Board.
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 firefighting
purposes.
E. All junk kept, stored, or arranged on the licensed premise shall be at all times kept, stored, and arranged within the junkyard as described in the application for license hereunder, and as limited under Subsection
1D above.
F. A person licensed under the Part 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 25 feet from the right-of-way lines on all streets or roads and
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 Board shall deem it necessary and desirable, the premises
to be licensed shall at the setback lines be enclosed by a cyclone
or equivalent chain fence six feet high to be erected along with suitable
plantings to create natural screening, within 60 days after issuance
of the license, or any renewal thereof, or at any time thereafter
if the Township determines same is in the public's best interest.
I. Automobile and other vehicle tires shall not be accumulated or stored
in such numbers or fashion as to pose a threat of a significant fire,
or a fire that is difficult to control, or a fire, because of heavy
smoke and noxious fumes, creates a nuisance to the surrounding area.
The Board of Supervisors, upon advice or recommendation of the fire
official of the Township, or any fire marshal of the Township, shall
have the authority to set limits on the number of tires accumulated
or stored on site as well as their location and disposal. The standards
for such regulations by the Board of Supervisors shall be those imposed
or followed by other municipalities in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
taking into account the size of the property, where the tires are
located, the surrounding zoning and character of the neighborhood,
the number of local residents potentially affected by any such fire,
the history of the operation in question, various state and federal
regulations, and other matters deemed appropriate by the Board of
Supervisors in protecting and promoting the safety, health, and general
welfare of the Township.
[Ord. 5/7/1986, § 8-113; as amended by Ord. 5/20/1991]
Any violation of any provision of this Part as determined by
the Board of Supervisors of East Fallowfield Township at a public
meeting after 10 days' notice by letter to the licensee may result
in the license of licensee being revoked, as the Board of Supervisors
shall so determine. Such licensee, in the event of revocation of a
license, may apply for a new license which may be granted at the Board's
discretion upon payment of the required fee for new application, and
a determination by the Township that the violation has been satisfactorily
corrected.
[Ord. 5/7/1986, § 8-114; as amended by Ord. 2010-01,
3/23/2010]
Any person, firm, or corporation who shall violate any provision
of this Part, upon conviction thereof in an action brought before
a magisterial district judge 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 less than $100 nor 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. 5/7/1986, § 8-115; as amended by Ord. 5/20/1991]
In addition to the remedies provided in §§
13-213 and
13-214 above, any continuous violations of this Part which shall constitute a nuisance in fact, or which shall in the opinion of the Board constitute a nuisance may be abated by proceeding against the violator under this Part, and/or any other applicable ordinance, of East Fallowfield Township, in equity, law, or by and under any other lawful remedy or right.
[Ord. 5/7/1986, § 8-116; as added by Ord. 5/20/1991;
and as amended by Ord. 2010-01, 3/23/2010]
The provisions herein are supplemental to those set forth in the International Fire Code as implemented as part of the Uniform Construction Code [Chapter
5, Part
1]. If there are any inconsistencies between the terms and provisions therein and herein, the ordinance that has the more stringent provisions shall control.