[Ord. 87-2000, 6/14/2000, § I]
This Part shall be known and may be cited as the "Honey Brook Township Junkyard Ordinance."
[Ord. 87-2000, 6/14/2000, § II; as amended by Ord. 122-2006, 12/15/2006]
The purpose of this Part is to regulate junkyards within Township. The purpose of this Part shall also include, but not be limited to, providing aesthetic controls and regulations for a junkyard facility; the regulation of the size of a junkyard; the regulation of scrapped automotive vehicles, trucks and other vehicles; the prohibition of accepting or storing any hazardous or toxic wastes; prohibiting the underground excavation for storing any junk or junk products; and providing for penalties for the violation of this Part.
[Ord. 87-2000, 6/14/2000, § III; as amended by Ord. 122-2006, 12/15/2006]
The following definitions shall be applicable to this Part:
Includes but shall not be limited to dilapidated automobiles, trucks, tractors, and other such vehicles and parts thereof; dilapidated wagons, trailers, and other kinds of vehicles and parts thereof; scrap building materials, scrap contractor's equipment, tanks, casks, cans, barrels, boxes, drums, piping, bottles, glass, old iron, machinery of any type, rags, paper, excelsior, hair, mattresses, beds or bedding material; and any other kind of scrap or waste material not otherwise prohibited herein which is stored, kept, handled, or displayed.
An area of land, with or without buildings, used for the storage, outside of a completely enclosed building, of used and discarded material of any type, including those materials defined as "junk" contained herein, with or without the dismantling, processing, salvage, sale, or other use or disposition of the same. All physical activities and equipment relating to the process of receiving, recovering, stripping, crushing, loading and unloading junk shall be part of a junkyard. The outside storage or deposit on a lot or parcel of land comprising two or more inoperable vehicles, which do not have current licenses and current state inspections as issued by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, shall be considered as a junkyard. Agricultural vehicles such as tractors, mowers, and other typical farm equipment which are utilized as part of an active ongoing farming operation and contractors construction equipment (when legally permitted by the Township Zoning Ordinance [Chapter 27]) shall be exempt from this definition. Automobile and vehicular sales lots managed by licensed automobile dealers shall also be exempt from this definition.
[Amended by Ord. 187-2017, 3/8/2017]
Includes any person corporation, partnership, or any other entity who or which shall engage in the business of selling, buying, salvaging, and dealing in "junk" and who maintains and operates a "junkyard" within the Honey Brook Township.[1]
A license, as required under this Part, shall mean the permit granted to a junk dealer who accumulates, stores, or disposes of "junk" as herein defined.
[1]
Editor’s Note: The definition of “junkyard operation, which immediately followed this definition, was repealed 3/8/2017 by Ord. 187-2017.
[Ord. 87-2000, 6/14/2000, § IV; as amended by Ord. 122-2006, 12/15/2006; and by Ord. 187-2017, 3/8/2017]
1.
The following regulations and controls shall apply to all junkyards located within Township:
A.
Setbacks.
(1)
No junk shall be stored or accumulated, nor shall any structure be erected, within 50 feet of the side and rear lines of the premises or within 60 feet of any street right-of-way line that the premises abuts.
(2)
No item of junk shall be stored, maintained, situated, placed or otherwise located within any designated flood hazard area or within 75 feet of any river, stream, run, creek, irrigation ditching, or any other natural watercourse. The more stringent of these two standards shall govern in all cases.
B.
Every licensee, hereunder shall continuously maintain the licensed premises in the manner hereinafter prescribed:
(1)
The manner of storage and arrangement of junk and the drainage facilities on-site shall be as such to prevent the accumulation of stagnant water upon the licensed land and to facilitate access for inspection purposes and firefighting.
(2)
The junkyard shall be enclosed by a fence or wall that forms a substantially solid visual barrier. Fencing may be either heavy-duty steel chain link fence with privacy screens/slats, or solid wood stockade fence, and must be maintained in good repair. Walls may be solid masonry or metal walls of uniform design, texture and structure.
(a)
Such fence or wall shall not be less than eight feet in height.
(b)
It is further provided that these fencing provisions shall be applicable only to that portion of the lot being used directly for the storage of junk and shall not be applicable to the remainder of the property owned or used by the junkyard operator so long as said remainder of the lot is not being used for the storage of junk.
(c)
The land area between the fence or wall and any adjoining public street or residential use shall be landscaped in a manner satisfactory to the Board of Supervisors such that the combination of the fence or wall and any landscaping shall substantially screen the view of the junkyard from such public street or residentially used property.
(3)
No processing of junk or other business activity shall be carried on in connection with the licensed business, other than retail sales, on Sundays, legal holidays, or at any time between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. Entrance and exit gates shall be closed and secured between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m.
(4)
No junkyard shall be allowed to become a public nuisance, nor shall any junkyard operate in such a manner as to become injurious to the health, safety or welfare of the community.
(5)
No hazardous waste shall be stored on the premises. Gasoline, diesel fuel, oil, antifreeze, air-conditioning refrigerant or any similar potentially hazardous substance shall be removed from any junk or other items stored on the premises and stored in approved containers meeting fire standards. Disposal or storage of such liquids shall be in a manner deemed acceptable by the Board upon advice of the Township Engineer and/or Fire Marshal. Such liquids shall not be deposited on the ground.
(6)
No garbage, organic waste or other waste liable to give off a foul odor or attract vermin shall be kept on the premises, nor shall refuse of any kind be kept on the premises, unless such refuse is junk as defined herein and is in use in the licensed business.
(7)
There shall be no burning of junk or other material within the boundaries of a junkyard. Combustible material of any kind which is not necessary or beneficial to the licensed junkyard shall be prohibited on the premises. The premises shall not be allowed to become a fire hazard.
(8)
Weeds and vegetation on the premises, other than trees, shall be kept at a height of no more than six inches.
(9)
No junk shall be allowed to rest upon or protrude over any walkway or curb or become scattered or blown around or off the lot.
(10)
A junkyard may not be operated as a "waste transfer facility" as defined under the rules and regulations of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.
C.
Licensing Conditions.
2.
No owner of real property shall permit a junkyard to be operated on such property except in full compliance with the regulations contained in this Part. Any such property owner shall also be liable, in addition to any junk dealer involved in the operation of the junkyard, for any violation of this Part occurring on such property.
[Added by Ord. No. 207-2020, 11/11/2020]
[Ord. 87-2000, 6/14/2000, § V; as amended by Ord. 122-2006, 12/15/2006]
1.
Within five days after adoption of this Part, any junk dealer who operates a junkyard or similar facility within Township shall be required to obtain an annual license from the Board of Supervisors. The annual license shall be issued for each twelve-month period beginning July 1 of each year. A license application required by this Part shall be issued by the Board of Supervisors. Such license shall state the name of the person to whom such license is issued and any related partnership, corporation, or other form of ownership. The license shall be limited to the premises on which such business is to be conducted and shall set forth the dimensions and acreage or square footage which is permitted in accordance with the Honey Brook Township Zoning Ordinance [Chapter 27] and any prior approvals. The following conditions shall be evaluated by the building inspector and/or other designated party assigned by the Board of Supervisors to determine the extent of conditions to be imposed with said license:
[Amended by Ord. 187-2017, 3/8/2017]
A.
In issuing a license for a junkyard, the Board of Supervisors may impose upon the license and the person applying therefor such terms and conditions in addition to these regulations contained herein any requirements deemed necessary to carry out the spirit and intent of this Part.
B.
License Fee. A license fee shall be paid immediately upon the issuance or renewal of a license for a junkyard facility. The amount of the annual license fee, including the initial license, shall be in an amount as established from time to time by resolution of the Board of Supervisors.
C.
Transfer of License. No license issued by the Board of Supervisors shall be transferable to any other person or party, without Township approval.
D.
Certificate of Insurance. Every junk dealer shall maintain and keep in effect at all times a general liability insurance policy with respect to its junkyard and the subject property with minimum limits of $500,000. A certificate of insurance referencing such required coverage shall be provided to the Township at the time of application for a new or renewal license for a junkyard.
[Ord. 87-2000, 6/14/2000, § VI; as amended by Ord. 122-2006, 12/15/2006]
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 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.