This chapter shall be known, and may be cited, as "Liberty Township Junkyard Ordinance."
[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Supervisors of the Township of Liberty 6-7-2005 by Ord. No. 2005-02. Amendments noted where applicable.]
Unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, the following words or phrases shall be construed in this chapter to have the meanings below indicated:
The Board of Supervisors of Liberty Township.
Scrap, copper, brass, rope, rags, batteries, paper, trash, rubber debris, waste, iron, steel and other old scrap ferrous or nonferrous material, including wrecked, scrapped, ruined, dismantled or junked motor vehicles, or parts thereof, but not including farm machinery, provided said farm machinery is used in connection with a bona fide farm operation. Inoperable vehicles, trailers and related equipment which do not bear a valid and current inspection sticker as required by the motor vehicle laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania shall be deemed to be junked vehicles.
Any person, as hereinafter defined, who establishes, maintains, uses or operates a junkyard, as hereinafter defined, within the Township of Liberty.
Any outdoor area, establishment or place of business or activity which is maintained, used or operated for storing, keeping, buying or selling junk, for the maintenance or operation of a garbage dump, sanitary landfill or scrap metal processor, or for the storage of three or more junked vehicles.
The permit granted to a junk dealer.
A natural person or an association, partnership, firm, corporation or other entity.
The use of any natural objects, plantings, embankments, fencing, walls or structures, or a combination of any of these maintained at a height of not less than six feet, which will effectively hide any deposit of junk so as not to be visible from the road, street or highway at all times of the year.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
Liberty Township, Adams County.
[Amended 3-2-2021 by Ord. No. 2021-04]
No person shall engage or continue to engage in business as a junk dealer or establish or maintain a junkyard in the Township except as authorized by this chapter and without first having obtained a license therefor from the Board. The license shall be in effect for a term of one year after issuance of the license by the Liberty Township Board of Supervisors. Such license shall state the name of the person to whom the license is issued and the location of the junkyard premises used or intended to be used and shall be posted conspicuously upon such premises.
A.
Application for a license or any renewal thereof shall be made and filed, in writing, by the proposed licensee with the Secretary of the Board, or his duly authorized agent, on a form supplied by the Board. The application shall include the following information:
(1)
Name, address and length of residence at such address of the applicant.
(2)
Address of the premises upon which such business is to be conducted or upon which such junkyard is to be established or operated.
(3)
Name of the owner or owners of said premises if other than the applicant.
(4)
Whether the applicant has been convicted within a period of three years prior to the filing of such application of any crime involving the unlawful taking, receipt, use or other disposition of a motor vehicle or a part or parts thereof.
(5)
Statement that the applicant will comply with the provisions of this chapter and any regulations adopted pursuant to this chapter.
(6)
For renewal applications, statement that the applicant, during the proceeding term of his license, maintained his premises in conformity with the provisions of this chapter. If applicant has been in violation of this chapter during the preceding term of the license, applicant shall describe in detail the facts concerning said violation/violations.
[Amended 3-2-2021 by Ord. No. 2021-04]
B.
If the applicant is a partnership or association the applicant shall furnish the above information for every member thereof. If the applicant is a business corporation, the applicant shall furnish the above information for each officer and director thereof. The application shall be signed by the applicant, if the applicant is an individual; by all members, if the applicant is a partnership or association; and by the president and secretary if the applicant is a business corporation.
[Amended 3-2-2021 by Ord. No. 2021-04]
The Board, upon receipt of an application for license under this chapter, shall determine whether or not a license shall be issued or a renewal thereof shall be granted after an examination of the application and upon the fullest consideration of the suitability of the premises proposed to be used for the purposes of the license, the character of the property adjacent thereto and the effect of the proposed use, taking into consideration the health, welfare and safety of the residents of the Township, the zoning, and any potential hazard which may result to adjacent properties and structures thereon or to the citizens of the Township. No license shall be issued until the requisite license fee has been paid, as established in § 172-6 of this chapter. Failure to complete all the required information as set forth in § 172-4 of this chapter in the application shall result in the application being denied. In addition, for renewal applications, no license shall be issued if applicant has been found in violation of this chapter three or more times during the preceding term of the license. Such license shall be issued upon the condition that the same may be summarily revoked in the event that the licensee is found to have given any false information or in any way misrepresented any material fact upon which the Board or its duly authorized agent has relied in granting such license.
Every junk dealer shall pay an annual license fee for every license or renewal thereof issued hereunder. No abatement of the annual license fee shall be made for any cause whatsoever. No refund will be given in the event of the revocation of a license fee by the Board. The amount of the license fee shall be set by resolution of the Board of Supervisors.
No person licensed under this chapter as a junk dealer shall, by virtue of one license, establish, maintain, use or operate more than one junkyard within the Township. 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.
No license issued by the Board shall be transferable or assignable by agreement, will, interstate or otherwise.
Every junk dealer licensed under this chapter shall constantly maintain the licensed junkyard premises in the manner prescribed by this section and by 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 to residents nearby or a place for the breeding of rodents and vermin.
B.
The license issued under this chapter shall not be authority for the storage, handling, processing or disposing of wastes regulated under Act 97 of 1980, 35 P.S. § 6018.101 et seq., known as the "Solid Waste Management Act."
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
C.
Whenever any motor vehicle shall be received as junk in the junkyard premises, all gasoline, diesel fuel, oil and cooling fluids shall be drained and removed therefrom.
D.
Junk shall be stored and arranged in a neat and orderly fashion 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 fire-fighting and inspection purposes. There shall be at least 16 feet of open space between each row of junk. Junked motor vehicles may be stored end-to-end (a double row) for purposes of application of this spacing requirement.
E.
No oil, grease, tires, gasoline or other similar material that might be dangerous or tend to produce noxious smoke or odors shall be burned within a junkyard at any time.
F.
The junkyard premises to be licensed shall be set back a minimum distance of 25 feet from the right-of-way lines of all abutting streets, roads or highways, and a minimum distance of 100 feet from any existing dwelling house erected upon premises adjacent to the licensed premises, but in any event not less than a minimum distance of 25 feet from the property lines of all adjacent properties, and a minimum distance of 30 feet from any river, stream, run, creek, floodplain or other natural watercourse in the Township. The area between the setback line and such right-of-way lines, other property lines and natural watercourses shall be at all times kept clear and vacant, free of weeds, debris and junk, including any motor vehicle incapable of meeting state inspection requirements.
G.
No gasoline, oil or any other hazardous liquid or substance shall be stored less than a minimum distance of 100 feet from any river, stream, run, creek or other natural watercourse in the Township.
H.
In no event shall any junk be kept, stored or accumulated on a junkyard premises, nor any structure be erected to be used in connection with at junkyard, within 500 feet of any existing church, cemetery, school, playground, restaurant, motel or other place of public use or accommodation, provided that nothing contained in this subsection shall apply to existing structures used in connection with junkyards presently established and operating, which are otherwise in compliance with the provisions of this chapter, or to any junk presently kept, stored or accumulated thereon.
I.
Screening shall be provided for any junkyard which is within 500 feet of the nearest edge of the right-of-way of an abutting public road, street or highway. Such screening shall be constructed, erected and/or maintained at a height of not less than six feet; shall be controlled by the setback provisions of Subsection F hereof; and shall be completed within 12 months after the effective date of this chapter, provided that if, in the sole and exclusive opinion of the Board it should appear that the owner and/or operator of a junkyard situated within the Township has clearly demonstrated that he is making a continuing bona fide effort to comply with the screening provisions of this subsection, then and in such event the Board may, in its sole discretion, grant an extension of time to such owner or operator for the completion of such screening, upon receipt of a written letter from said owner or operator requesting such an extension of time.
J.
No two or more vehicles or major parts thereof may be stacked on top of one another.
K.
A person licensed under this chapter who operates a business involving the junkyard shall provide designated off-street parking and load facilities from a single entrance off any adjacent street, road or highway, which facilities shall have, at a minimum, a stone and gravel base, and which shall be of a size sufficient to accommodate one parking space for the junk dealer operating the junkyard and an additional space for each employee of such junk dealer, plus a sufficient number of additional spaces based upon the estimated number of patrons or customers to be served, but in any event not less than:
Every junkyard premises maintained or proposed to be maintained within the Township shall be subject to inspection during reasonable hours of the day by any member of the Board or a duly authorized agent thereof, who shall be and hereby is authorized to make regular inspections of the junkyard premises of every licensee or proposed licensee hereunder for the purpose of determining whether said licensee has maintained and operated or will maintain and operate his premises in full compliance with the provisions of this chapter and such further regulations as may hereafter be adopted by the Township regulating and licensing junk dealers and the establishment and maintenance of junkyards.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
Any person who violates or permits a violation of any of the provisions of this chapter shall, upon conviction thereof in a summary proceeding brought before a Magisterial District Judge under the Pennsylvania Rules of Criminal Procedure, be guilty of a summary offense and sentenced to pay a fine of not more than $1,000, plus costs of prosecution (including attorney fees). In default of payment thereof, the defendant may be sentenced to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 90 days. Each day or portion thereof that such violation continues or is permitted to continue shall constitute a separate offense, and each section of this chapter that is violated shall also constitute a separate offense.
In addition to the remedies provided in § 172-11 above, any continued violation of this chapter constituting a nuisance in fact or which shall, in the opinion of the Board, constitute a nuisance, may be abated as such by proceedings against the violator by action in equity or law.
All ordinances or parts of ordinances inconsistent herewith are hereby repealed.