[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the
Town of Lancaster 6-19-1995 by L.L. No. 3-1995 (Ch. 4 of the 1966 Codification).
Amendments noted where applicable.]
A.
This chapter is
enacted pursuant to the authority granted in § 10 of the
Municipal Home Rule Law of the State of New York, wherein a municipality
may adopt local laws relating to property, affairs and government
of the Town, and shall be Local Law No. 3 of the year 1995, entitled
"Salvage Yards," and shall provide for a clean, wholesome, attractive
environment, which is of importance to the health and safety of the
inhabitants of the Town, and the safeguarding of their material rights
against unwarranted invasion, and, in addition, such an environment
is deemed essential to the maintenance and continued development of
the economy of the Town and the general welfare of its inhabitants.
B.
It is further
declared that the unrestrained accumulation of salvage yards is a
hazard to such health, safety and welfare of the inhabitants, necessitating
the regulation and restraint thereof. It is also noted that there
presently exists four salvage yards within the Town. It is the intent
of this chapter to strike a balance between the protection of the
health, safety and welfare of the Town's inhabitants and the legitimate
and necessary business of salvage yards.
As used in this chapter, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
All vehicles designed to be propelled or drawn by power other
than muscular power, originally intended for use on public highways.
Any person, company, corporation or other business entity.
Any place for the storage or deposit, whether in connection
with another business or not, of used motor vehicles intended to be
wrecked or junked, or stored as wrecked or junked motor vehicles;
iron, steel or nonferrous scrap, where such items, or any of them,
are held for the purpose of resale, dismantling parts therefrom for
resale, or reclaiming for use some or all of the material therein.
The term shall include any place for the storage or deposit, for any
such purposes, of used parts or waste materials from motor vehicles,
and shall include those established motor vehicle wrecking and/or
dismantling operations which were subject to the motor vehicle licensing
requirements of former Chapter 4, Auto Wrecking and Junkyards, of
the Code of the Town of Lancaster.[1]
The Town of Lancaster, excluding the area of the Village
of Lancaster and that portion of the Village of Depew lying within
the Town of Lancaster.
[1]
Editor's Note: Original Ch. 4 of the 1966
Codification, Auto Wrecking and Junkyards, adopted 7-6-1959, was repealed
by this local law.
No person shall own, lease, operate, establish
or maintain a salvage yard until he has obtained a license to operate
a salvage yard.
Application for the license shall be made in
writing to the Town Board, and shall be filed with the Town Clerk.
The applications shall comply with the Town's site plan review process
and any rules and regulations promulgated thereunder.
A.
A public hearing
on the application shall be held before the Town Board. Notice of
the public hearing shall be given to the applicant in writing and
shall be published once in the official newspaper of the Town, which
publication shall not be less than 10 days before the date of the
hearing.
B.
At the time and
place set for the hearing, the Town Board shall hear the applicant
and all other persons wishing to be heard upon the application.
A.
No salvage yard
shall be located closer than 1,000 feet to a residential zone and/or
any residence, school, public park, place of worship or other place
of public assembly.
B.
No salvage yard
shall be located within 100 feet of a public thoroughfare.
C.
The salvage yard
shall be completely surrounded with a fence, the type and height of
which shall be such as, in the opinion of the Town Board, will substantially
screen the salvage yard operation on all sides thereof.
D.
All motor vehicles
and parts, and scrap thereof, stored or deposited at the salvage yard
shall be kept within the enclosure of the salvage yard, except as
removal shall be necessary for the transportation of same in the reasonable
course of business.
E.
All wrecking,
dismantling or any other work on such motor vehicles and/or all reclaiming
or any other work on such scrap shall be accomplished within the enclosure.
G.
If approved, the
area of the salvage yard may not be expanded without further approval
of the Town Board.
After a public hearing, the Town Board shall
grant or deny the application. In making its determination, the Town
Board shall take into consideration the following criteria:
A.
The ability of
the applicant to comply with the fencing requirements.
B.
The ability of
the applicant to comply with other reasonable restrictions, regulations
and/or conditions sought to be imposed by the Town Board.
C.
Whether the applicant
has been convicted for any type of larceny and/or receiving of stolen
goods in this state or any other state or country.
D.
The nature, development
and use of surrounding property and whether or not the proposed salvage
yard substantially alters such nature, development or use of the surrounding
property.
E.
Whether the general
public can be protected from offensive or unhealthy odors, noise and
smoke.
F.
Whether the proposed
salvage yard would have an unfavorable impact upon the clean, wholesome
and attractive environment declared to be of vital importance to the
inhabitants of the Town.
G.
Whether there
is available other suitable sites with the Town for the salvage yard.
H.
Whether there
are other open and operating salvage yards within the Town and whether
another salvage yard would unduly saturate the Town with salvage yards.
A license year shall be January 1 through December
31.
In addition to any other fees imposed by this
Code, the annual license fee shall be $250, to be paid at the time
the application is made and annually thereafter in the event of renewal.
A.
Application for
renewal of any license granted shall be made in writing to the Town
Board and shall be filed with the Town Clerk, together with the appropriate
license fee, no later than November 30 of each year.
A.
Notwithstanding
the above, the Town Board shall hold a public hearing on any renewal
application, if the Town Board is in receipt of information that:
(1)
The applicant
has not complied with those portions of this chapter on his part to
be in compliance with.
(2)
The salvage
yard and/or its operation has become a public nuisance under the common
law recognized in New York.
(3)
The applicant
has been convicted of any type of larceny or the receiving of stolen
goods in this state or any other state or county.
(4)
The applicant
has been convicted of any violation of this chapter.
B.
Said hearing
shall be conducted in accord with the applicable provisions of the
State Administrative Procedure Act.
C.
In the event
that the Town Board finds affirmatively on any one or more of the
standards set forth in this section, it may refuse to grant the renewal
license applied for.
The determination of the Town Board denying
an application or any renewal thereof may be reviewed in a proceeding
commenced under Article 78 of the Civil Practice Law and Rules.
Notwithstanding any other penalties imposed
herein for violations of this chapter, if a person has allowed his
salvage yard to become a public nuisance under the common law of this
state, or if a person is operating a salvage yard without the license
provided for herein, the Town may seek injunctive relief in the courts
of the State of New York.
This chapter shall be enforced by the Building
Inspector.
Violation of any portion of this chapter shall
be guilty of an offense punishable by a fine which shall not be less
than $250 and no more than $1,000. Each seven-day period a violation
shall continue shall be deemed a separate violation.
A.
For purposes
of this chapter, the location of salvage yards already established
shall be considered approved by the Town Board as to location and
fencing.
B.
Within 60 days
of the effective date of this chapter, the owners and/or operators
of any established salvage yards, if they have not already done so,
shall file with the Town Clerk a survey, or other suitable drawing,
which locates the boundaries of any established salvage yards.
C.
No established
salvage yard may expand its use or salvage yard area without further
approval of the Town Board.
The invalidity of any section, or part thereof,
of this chapter shall not affect the remaining provisions hereof.
This chapter shall take effect upon proper mailing,
filing and publication in accordance with the law.
