This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "Borough of New Cumberland Junk Dealer and Junkyard Ordinance."
[HISTORY: Adopted by the Borough Council of the Borough of New Cumberland 12-1-1993 by Ord. No. 545. Amendments noted where applicable.]
As used in this chapter, the following words shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. Singular shall include plural and masculine shall include feminine and the neuter.
The Borough of New Cumberland, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania.
The New Cumberland Borough Council.
Any discarded materials, articles or things of no value or possessing value in part, gross or aggregate, and held for resale, including, but not necessarily being limited to, scrap metal, scrapped motor vehicles or parts thereof, machinery, equipment, paper, glass, containers, structures and vehicles which are inoperable and do not have a current and valid inspection sticker as required by the Vehicle Code of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.[1] Junk shall not include refuse, garbage or recyclables properly secured in containers for prompt disposal.
Any person, as defined herein, who shall engage in the business of collecting, accumulating, buying, selling, storing, disassembling, treating or processing junk as defined herein in the Borough of New Cumberland.
Any lot, land or structure, or part thereof, where junk is stored or accumulated, either indoors or out-of-doors or where the business of selling, buying or dealing in junk is carried on, or where two or more motor vehicles are stored which are unlicensed, inoperable and do not have a current and valid inspection sticker as required by the Vehicle Code of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,[2] but not including any place where motor vehicles, intended to be repaired, are stored for a period not in excess of 45 days in connection with a bona fide automotive repair or automotive body shop business.
A natural person, firm, copartnership, association or corporation.
On or after the effective date of this chapter, no person shall engage or continue to engage in activity or business as a junk dealer or establish or operate a junkyard in the Borough, except as authorized by this chapter and licensed as provided herein.
A.
Application for license shall be made in writing under oath in a form prescribed by the Borough and shall contain the name of the applicant and all owners or interested parties, their addresses, address of the premises upon which activity or business is to be conducted or junkyard established or operated, name of owner or owners of said property if other than the applicant and, upon any subsequent applications, a statement that the applicant, during preceding term of license, did comply with and did maintain premises in compliance of this chapter.
B.
The application shall include a description of the premises upon which the junkyard is to be established or operated, specifying thereon the zoned land use, setback lines, parking requirements, structures erected thereon, dwellings erected upon the premises adjacent to the premises proposed to be used for the junkyard and the deed book reference for the property. In addition, each application must include a plot plan prepared by a registered surveyor or engineer.
C.
If the applicant is a copartnership or association, the application shall furnish the above information for every member thereof. If the applicant is a corporation, the application shall furnish the above information for each officer and director thereof and, in addition, shall furnish a registered place of business of the corporation and the name of the agent authorized to receive service of process of correspondence for the corporation. The application shall be signed by the applicant, if an individual, by all members of a copartnership or association, and by the president and secretary if the applicant is a business corporation. A separate application shall be required for each junkyard conducted by a junk dealer.
D.
An application for a license for existing junkyards shall be filed within 30 days after the effective date of this chapter.
E.
The Borough may, at its discretion, cause any junkyard to be inspected at any reasonable time, and the applicant or licensee shall, as a condition for approval of the application or renewal of license, grant to the Borough, or any person or entity acting under authority of the Borough, the right to enter the junkyard or premises for such inspection.
A bond, in a form acceptable to the Borough, executed by the applicant with a surety company authorized to transact business within the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania shall be obtained for the sum of $25,000 and shall accompany every application for a license. The Borough may accept an executed bond secured by deposit with the Borough Secretary of a cashier's check, treasurer's check or certificate of deposit of a banking institution in the above amount. The following requirements shall pertain as to the bond:
A.
The bond shall be renewed and refiled annually not later than December 1 of each year;
B.
The bond shall be executed in favor of and for the use of the Borough;
C.
The bond shall have a term of one year;
D.
The bond shall be conditioned that if, upon and after issuance of the license, the licensee shall fully and faithfully observe and comply with the provisions of this chapter and the rules and regulations of the Borough, the obligation shall be void, otherwise to remain in full force and effect.
Every junk dealer, or person operating or maintaining, or intending to establish or maintain a junkyard, shall pay an annual license fee of $250 for every license or renewal thereof issued hereunder. All licenses shall be issued for a term of one year, beginning January 1 and ending December 31. No abatement of the annual license fee shall be made for any cause whatsoever. All licenses shall be renewed annually on or before the first day of January of each year. Such license shall be issued upon the condition that the same may be summarily revoked in the event the said licensee be found to have given any false information or in any way misrepresented any material fact upon which the issuing authority has relied in granting such license. No refunds shall be given where the license is so revoked.
A.
The Borough Council, 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 purpose 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 Borough and any potential hazard which may result to adjacent properties and structures thereon or to the citizens of the Borough. Upon approval of the application for license, the Council of the Borough of New Cumberland shall issue to the applicant a license upon which said license shall be designated the name of the junkyard. No license issued by the Borough shall be transferable or assignable by agreement, will, intestacy or in any other manner.
B.
Upon review of any application, the Borough may impose conditions not specified herein, provided said conditions are deemed and considered necessary to fulfill the purpose and intent of this chapter and, further, are consistent with protecting the health and general welfare of the residents of the Borough.
C.
The license issued shall be, at all times, conspicuously posted upon the premises licensed under this chapter.
A.
No license or renewal of license shall be issued to any person who has been twice convicted of a violation of the terms or provisions of this chapter or any federal, state or local law or rule relating to the activities of junk dealers, junkyards, solid waste, municipal waste or recyclables, within any one license period of one year, until expiration of one year from the date when the last violation or violations charged has or have been corrected or abated.
B.
No license or renewal of license shall be issued to any person who, within five years immediately preceding the date of the application, shall have been convicted for any felony or misdemeanor crimens falsi.
A.
Junkyards in existence prior to this chapter may be brought into compliance with the provisions hereof.
B.
Junkyards shall comply with all provisions of this chapter. Preexisting, nonconforming junkyard uses may exist in conformance with the provisions of this chapter and all other applicable ordinances, rules and regulations of the Borough.
C.
Junkyards shall comply with all provisions of the zoning, subdivision, waste management and recycling ordinances, rules and regulations of the Borough.
A.
Every licensee hereunder shall provide and shall at all times keep and maintain records, in the English language, of the time of the purchase, acquisition or receipt of junk, a full and complete description, including trade names, serial or manufacturer's numbers, if any, of every article or item of junk purchased, acquired or received by the licensee, the date and approximate hour of such purchase, acquisition or receipt, and the name and address of the person from whom such article or item of junk was purchased, acquired or received. Such written records shall at all times be subject to the inspection of the Borough for just cause. Such records shall be retained for a period of seven years.
B.
Every licensee hereunder shall keep and retain upon the licensed premises, for a period of 48 hours after the purchase, acquisition or receipt thereof, every item or article of junk so purchased, acquired or received by the licensee and placed on the licensed premises. The licensee shall not disturb or reduce or alter the original form, shape or condition of the same until such period of 48 hours shall have elapsed.
All junkyards existing at the effective date of this chapter, and all new junkyards, where permitted, shall comply with the provisions of this section, and any subsequent provisions, terms, conditions or regulations adopted by Council:
A.
The premises shall, at all times, be maintained so as not to constitute a nuisance, or a menace to the health and welfare of the community or the residents nearby, or provide or become a place for the breeding of rodents and vermin.
B.
No solid waste, garbage or other organic waste shall be stored in or on the licensed premises.
C.
The storage and arrangement of junk, and the drainage facilities of the junkyard, shall be such as to prevent the accumulation of stagnant water upon the property. Junk will be separated by on-premises roadways sufficient to facilitate access for firefighting and other emergency purposes. All junk kept, stored, or arranged on the premises shall always remain within the junkyard as described in the application for the license and as limited herein.
D.
No oil, grease, tires, gasoline or other material that could be dangerous or cause fire, smoke, gaseous emissions, or noxious odors shall be stored in the junkyard.
E.
No metal containers, barrels, or similar materials shall be stored to the extent that rust or excessive oxidation or other deterioration occurs, that could be detrimental to the water table, nearby rivers, streams or other water sources or the health and safety of the public.
F.
No motor vehicles shall be received or stored in the junkyard in violation of the provisions of this chapter. All vehicles on the premises must show a current Pennsylvania inspection sticker, be validly registered, and be instantly operable.
G.
The junkyard shall be set back a minimum distance of 25 feet from the right-of-way lines of all streets and alleys and all property lines. The setback space always shall be kept clean and vacant.
H.
No junk shall be stored or located within the distances established by any federal, state or local law, rule or regulation of any river, stream, water run, creek, irrigation ditch or any other natural watercourse.
I.
The premises shall, at the setback lines established hereunder, be enclosed by a fence or screen of a type or style to be determined by the Borough and consistent with the applicable provisions of Chapter 395, Zoning, of this Code, after review of the application or renewal application. The Borough may extend the time for compliance with the provisions for the imposition of any fence requirements either at the time of issuance of the license or at the time of renewal of a license.
A.
The Borough Chief of Police shall from time to time regularly inspect the premises of every licensee hereunder for the purpose of determining whether said licensee has established and maintained the premises in full compliance with the provisions of this chapter and such rules and regulations which may hereafter be adopted by the Borough of New Cumberland regulating and licensing junk dealers and the establishment and maintenance of junkyards. The Borough Chief of Police shall forthwith prosecute any discovered violation of this chapter. The Borough Chief of Police shall not less than twice yearly furnish to the Borough of New Cumberland a report of such inspection, the same to be in writing and in a form prescribed by the Council of the Borough of New Cumberland.
B.
Every junkyard in the Borough of New Cumberland shall, at all times, be subject to inspection during reasonable hours by the Borough Chief of Police or other member of the Borough Police Department. To facilitate such inspection, all junk therein shall be arranged and maintained in a neat and orderly fashion. All of such junk, vehicles and other junk are to be arranged in rows with a minimum of 20 feet of clear space between each row and each of said rows to be no greater in width than 40 feet.
Any person who shall violate any provision of this chapter shall, upon conviction thereof, pay a fine of not less than $200 nor more than $600, along with the costs of prosecution. Each day's violation of the provisions of this chapter shall constitute a separate offense.
The provisions of this chapter, so far as they are the same as those of ordinances in force immediately prior to the enactment of this chapter, are intended as a continuation of such ordinances and not as new enactments. Provisions of this chapter shall not affect any act done or liability incurred, nor shall they affect any suit or prosecution pending or to be instituted to enforce any right or penalty or to punish any offense under the authority of any ordinance repealed by this chapter.
In the event that any provision, section, sentence, clause or part of this chapter shall be held to be invalid, such invalidity shall not affect or impair any remaining provision, section, sentence, clause or part of this chapter or other ordinances affected by this chapter, it being the intent of the Borough of New Cumberland that such remainder shall be and shall remain in full force and effect.
All other ordinances, parts of ordinances or parts of resolutions inconsistent herewith shall be and the same expressly are repealed.