[Ord. 2002-54, 7/11/2002]
This Part shall be known and may be cited as the "Swatara Township
Junkyard Ordinance."
[Ord. 2002-54, 7/11/2002]
1.
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
FARM MACHINERY
JUNK
JUNK DEALER
JUNKYARD
LICENSE
MOTOR VEHICLE
PERSON
PREMISES
SOLID WASTE
TOWNSHIP
TRAILER
Unless otherwise expressly stated, the following words and phrases
shall be construed throughout this Part to have the following meanings
herein indicated:
Supervisors of Swatara Township, Lebanon County, Pennsylvania.
All types of machinery and equipment which were originally
manufactured for farm use, which are retained on farm properties,
either as operable equipment or for the purpose of salvaging repair
parts.
Any discarded material or articles, including but not limited
to scrap metal, scrapped, abandoned or junked motor vehicles, machinery,
equipment, containers, scrap wood and all other salvageable material
collected as salvage.
Any person, as herein defined, who shall engage in the business
of selling, buying, salvaging, storing and dealing in junk and who
maintains and operates a junkyard within Swatara Township.
Any yard, lot, or place, covered or uncovered, outdoors or
in an enclosed building, containing junk, as defined herein, for the
purposes of buying, dismantling, processing, selling or offering for
sale any such junk, in whole units or by parts, for a business or
commercial purpose, whether or not the proceeds from such act or acts
are to be used for charity. It also includes any premises, as herein
defined, having two or more unlicensed and discarded motor vehicles
and/or unlicensed trailers stored thereon, which shall, in any event,
be deemed a junkyard, except that the foregoing shall not apply to
duly licensed automobile dealers having operable vehicles on their
premises for resale.
The Township permit granted to a junk dealer who accumulates,
stores or disposes of junk as heretofore defined.
All types of automobiles, trucks, and tractors, including
self-propelled machinery of all kinds, with the exception of farm
machinery.
Any natural person, partnership, association, firm, corporation
or other legal entity.
Any parcel of land situated in Swatara Township, Lebanon
County, Pennsylvania, having a separate Tax Map parcel number for
County assessment purposes.
Any waste, including but not limited to municipal, residual
or hazardous wastes, including solid, liquid, semisolid, or contained
gaseous material.
Swatara Township, Lebanon County, Pennsylvania.
Any wheeled vehicles not self-propelled, drawn by a motor
vehicle.
2.
In this Part, the singular shall include the plural; the plural shall
include the singular; and the masculine shall include the feminine
and the neuter.
1.
No person may operate a junkyard, as herein defined, within the Township
without first obtaining a license as herein described.
A.
Any person desiring to operate a junkyard in the Township shall make
a written application to the Board of Supervisors. Such application
shall be in the form established by the Board of Supervisors and shall
set forth the following information:
(1)
The applicant's name, address and telephone number.
(2)
An accurate description of the premises on which the junkyard
is to be located, with the County Tax Map parcel number(s).
(3)
A metes-and-bounds survey, plot plan or sketch of the premises
to be licensed, together with deed references, showing the location,
size, distances from residences and public streets adjacent to the
premises.
(4)
Plans and specifications for all fencing, water facilities,
screening, access driveways, sewage disposal systems and stormwater
management.
(5)
A statement from the applicant that he will comply with this
Part, any regulations adopted pursuant to this Part and such other
information as the Board of Supervisors may require.
B.
An application for a license under this Part shall be examined by
the Board of Supervisors, or its duly authorized designee or agent,
and a license shall be issued or denied within 60 days of the submission
of the application to the Board of Supervisors. Examination of the
application shall include consideration of the suitability of the
property proposed to be used for the purpose of the license, the character
of the adjacent and nearby properties, and the effect of the proposed
use upon the zoning regulations of the Township. When the application
is found in compliance with the provisions of this Part, the Board
of Supervisors, or its duly authorized designee or agent, shall issue
a license to the applicant for operation of the junkyard as described
in the application.
C.
The license fee shall consist of two parts: the application fee,
which is nonrefundable in the case of the denial of a license, and
the annual license fee. All fees are due and payable to and for the
use of the Township at the time of the application and shall be in
such amounts as established, by resolution, from time to time, by
the Board of Supervisors.
D.
Licenses issued under this Part are required to be renewed on or
before January 1 of each year in which it is desired to continue operations
under this Part. Applications for licenses shall be filed with the
Township on or before November 1 of the year prior to which it is
desired to continue operations under this Part. The Township shall
issue licenses to those applicants that meet the requirements within
60 days of the submission of the application renewal. Such application
for renewal must be in writing, in such form as may be required by
the Board of Supervisors and accompanied by the license fee. Applications
for renewal are subject to a complete re-examination and consideration
by the Board of Supervisors, or its duly authorized designee or agent,
for continued compliance with the terms and conditions of this Part.
The Board of Supervisors, or its duly authorized designee or agent,
may waive the application fee when issuing renewed licenses.
E.
No person licensed under this Part shall, by virtue of one license,
keep more than one place of business or maintain or operate more than
one junkyard within the Township, nor shall any person engage in business
as a junk dealer or operate or maintain a junkyard in any place other
than the place designated in his license.
[Ord. 2002-54, 7/11/2002]
1.
No license issued by the Board of Supervisors shall be transferable
by the holder of such license to any other person unless the Board
of Supervisors, as herein described, authorizes such transfer.
A.
Any person desiring to transfer his license shall make a written application to the Board of Supervisors. Such application for the transfer of a license under this Part shall comply with the provisions set forth in § 10-103 of this Part.
B.
An application for the transfer of a license under this Part shall
be examined by the Board of Supervisors, or its duly authorized designee
or agent, and a license shall be issued or denied within 60 days of
the submission of the application to the Board of Supervisors. Examination
of the application for transfer of a license shall include consideration
of the suitability of the property proposed to be used for the purpose
of the license, the character of the adjacent and nearby properties,
and the effect of the proposed use upon the zoning regulations of
the Township. When the application is found in compliance with the
provisions of this Part, the Board of Supervisors, or its duly authorized
designee or agent, shall issue a license to the applicant for operation
of the junkyard as described in the application.
C.
In the event the Board of Supervisors shall approve the transfer
of a license, the transferee shall immediately pay to the Township
a transfer fee, to be established, by resolution, from time to time,
by the Board of Supervisors.
[Ord. 2002-54, 7/11/2002]
Any person wishing to extend or enlarge the area of an existing junkyard shall make an application for a new license in accordance with the provisions set forth in § 10-103 of this Part.
[Ord. 2002-54, 7/11/2002]
Such license, if issued, shall be posted conspicuously upon
the licensed premises at all times. Permanent records of all junk
received in or removed from any junkyard shall be kept by the junk
dealer on the licensed premises, containing the name and address from
whom received or to whom delivered, the date thereof, and a description
of the junk. Such records shall be open to inspection at all reasonable
times by the Board of Supervisors, or its duly authorized designee
or agent, and by any law enforcement officer.
[Ord. 2002-54, 7/11/2002]
1.
All junk in junkyards licensed under this Part shall be stored in
accordance with the provisions of this section and any subsequent
regulations adopted or imposed by the Board of Supervisors.
A.
All junk shall be set back at least 40 feet from any adjoining premises
and at least 60 feet from the nearest right-of-way of any public street,
road or highway.
B.
All junk shall be stored and arranged so as to permit access by fire-fighting
equipment. Junked motor vehicles shall be spaced in rows with at least
35 feet between double rows; other junk shall be stored in piles or
tiers which shall be separated by aisles or cleared areas of no less
than 35 feet. All junk piles or tiers must be less than six feet in
height from the ground. All aisles or cleared areas between junk piles,
tiers, or junked motor vehicles shall be kept free from obstructions
that could limit access to persons or emergency vehicles in the event
of an emergency.
C.
All material received on the premises shall be stored in a manner
and such premises shall at all times be maintained so as not to constitute
a nuisance or menace to the public health, public safety, public welfare
or the environment, including but not limited to the health of the
community or residents nearby, or a place for the breeding, harboring
or infesting of rodents, vermin, rats or other vectors. Such premises
shall not cause any excessive, offensive or noxious sounds, noises
or odors or be in violation of any environmental, health or sanitation
law, ordinance or regulation of any governmental body.
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.
E.
Whenever any motor vehicle shall be received in such premises as
junk, all liquids, including but not limited to gasoline and oil,
shall be drained and removed from the junked motor vehicle within
12 hours of arrival on the premises, except for those motor vehicles
with operable engines at the time of receipt and which are being offered
for sale. If the engine is not sold within six months of the date
of arrival on the premises, all liquids shall be drained and removed
from the engine. Such flammable liquids, including but not limited
to gasoline and oil, shall be stored at only one location on the premises,
and not more than 100 gallons in aggregate may be stored in properly
and clearly marked containers.
F.
Junk, as defined herein, susceptible to blowing from its place of
storage shall be stored indoors within an enclosed building or structure.
[Ord. 2002-54, 7/11/2002]
No material received on the premises, including material meeting the definition of "junk" provided in § 10-102, shall be accumulated or remain on the junkyard premises for more than one year, and it shall thereafter be properly disposed of at a permitted facility. Paper, plastic and similar materials for salvage shall not be accumulated or remain on the junkyard premises for more than 60 days. Materials separated as solid waste shall not be accumulated for more than 30 days.
[Ord. 2002-54, 7/11/2002]
Garbage, organic waste, or solid waste that cannot be salvaged
for reuse shall not be received or stored in any junkyard. Solid waste
that cannot be salvaged for reuse may be received only as mixed with
salvageable materials and shall be promptly disposed of at a permitted
facility, as herein provided.
[Ord. 2002-54, 7/11/2002]
1.
Every junk dealer licensed under this Part shall enclose and maintain
his junkyard as herein provided:
A.
Every junkyard premises shall be completely enclosed by a fence. Such fences shall be set back in accordance with the provisions of § 10-107 of this Part, shall be six feet in height, and shall be of wood or wire with maximum lineal openings of three inches. Entrance gates shall be of similar material, well constructed, and kept securely locked except during business hours. Fencing shall be maintained in good condition throughout its length at all times.
B.
Junkyard premises which have open-wire fence enclosures visible from
an abutting public thoroughfare or from an abutting residential property
within 500 feet of the fence shall have a landscaped screen of trees
and/or shrubs, of varieties capable of attaining a continuous height
of six feet within two years, planted along such fence or section
of fence. All required open areas between fence and lot lines of the
premises shall be maintained continuously in good order, free of weeds
and shrub growth.
C.
The area inside the fence and lot lines of any junkyard premises
shall have weeds mowed regularly and not permitted to go to seed.
[Ord. 2002-54, 7/11/2002]
1.
Every junk dealer and junkyard licensed under this Part is subject
to inspection and regulation as herein provided:
A.
Any member of the Board of Supervisors, or its duly authorized designee
or agent, may at any reasonable time enter upon the premises currently
licensed or for which a license application is pending.
B.
The Board of Supervisors may, from time to time, pursuant to resolution,
adopt regulations to carry out the provisions of this Part, upon giving
notice to licensees affected by such regulation.
[Ord. 2002-54, 7/11/2002]
The Board of Supervisors may waive the setback requirements as established by § 10-107 and the planting requirements established by § 10-110 of this Part for those licensed junkyards in existence at the time of the enactment of this Part, if such junkyard is in compliance with other requirements as provided by this Part and if, in the Board of Supervisors' discretion, compliance with said setback and planting requirements would cause undue hardship to such existing junkyard.
[Ord. 2002-54, 7/11/2002]
Every junk dealer and junkyard licensed under this Part shall
comply with all applicable health and environmental statutes, laws,
rules and regulations of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
[Ord. 2002-54, 7/11/2002]
Junk dealers and junkyards operating and existing in the Township
on the effective date of this Part shall be required to comply with
the provisions of and obtain a license under this Part within six
months from the effective date.
[Ord. 2002-54, 7/11/2002]
Any person, firm or corporation who violates or permits the
violation of any provision of this Part, including any amendments
to this Part, unless the section of the Code of Ordinances specifically
provides for a penalty, fine or enforcement, shall, upon being found
liable therefore in a civil enforcement proceeding commenced by the
Township in a determination made by the applicable Magisterial District
Judge in the manner provided for the enforcement of summary offenses
under the Pennsylvania Rules of Civil Procedure, pay a fine of not
less than $100 and not more than $1,000, plus costs, including reasonable
attorney's fees, incurred by the Township. 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. If
the violator fails to pay the amount of the judgment after the time
for appealing the final judgment has expired, the Township may enforce
the judgment pursuant to the applicable Rules of Civil Procedure.
[Ord. 2002-54, 7/11/2002]
The Board of Supervisors may take any appropriate action at
law or equity, civil or criminal, to enforce the provisions of this
Part, and the Part shall in no way restrict any remedies otherwise
provided by law.
