No more than one unregistered or junk vehicle shall be kept in any area of the Town of Littleton by the owner of the vehicle or by the owner or one in control of the premises wherein such vehicle is kept, unless a license has been granted in accordance to the procedure hereafter described.
[HISTORY: Adopted 5-4-1992 Annual Town Meeting, Art. 29. Amendments noted where applicable.]
Motor vehicles kept in an enclosed building are not subject to this chapter so long as they remain within the building. If more than one motor vehicle is taken outside of the building, it is subject to this chapter.
For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
One which is worn out, cast off or discarded and which is ready for dismantling or destruction or which has been collected or stored for salvage or for stripping in order to make use of parts thereof. Any parts from such a vehicle shall be considered a "junk vehicle" under this chapter.
Any motor vehicle which does not display a current registration plate assigned to that vehicle will be considered unregistered for the purposes of enforcement of this chapter.
A.
Any business which has a Class 1, 2 or 3 vehicle license under the provisions of MGL C. 140, § 58, as amended, is exempt from the provisions of this chapter.
B.
This chapter does not apply to motor vehicles on property where the principal business use is a farm, garden or nursery, provided that such motor vehicle is necessary to the operation of such business.
A license to keep more than one unregistered or junk vehicle may be requested by filing with the Executive Secretary an application, in writing, to the Select Board. The Select Board shall hold a public hearing upon such request, notice of which shall be given by publication in a newspaper having a general circulation in Littleton at least seven days before the date of the hearing. The cost of the publishing shall be paid by the applicant for the license.
The Select Board may grant a license for not longer than one year, upon such conditions the Select Board deems proper, to keep such unregistered and junk vehicles in the open, after a public hearing has been held and the Select Board determines that the keeping of the same will not depreciate property values in the area, will not create a hazard to the public safety or will not become a public nuisance. Renewals of said license shall be made only after the procedure set forth above is followed.
Upon the filing with the Select Board of a petition signed by at least 10 legal residents of Littleton asking for revocation of any license issued under this chapter, the Select Board shall call a public hearing to review the conduct of the licensee under said license. If the Select Board determines that the operation of the licensee under said license is such as to depreciate property values of surrounding property, to create a hazard to the public safety or to constitute a public nuisance, the Select Board, by a majority vote, may revoke said license. The effective date of such revocation shall be 30 days after said vote of revocation.
The enforcing authority under this chapter shall be the Littleton Police Department.
The enforcing authority shall give written notice of any violation of this chapter to the person or entity committing the violation. 30 days after the receipt of such notice of violation, the person or entity shall be liable to a penalty of not more than $50 for each separate offense. Each day of a continuing violation shall constitute a separate offense.