This chapter shall be known as the "Junk Dealer, Junkyard and Scrap Yard Ordinance."
[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Supervisors of the Township of Moore 3-6-2012 by Ord. No. 2012-01. Amendments noted where applicable.]
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
Any place where more than one automobile which does not bear a current Pennsylvania state inspection sticker and is not fit for immediate highway use is stored or disassembled.
Any person, persons, firm or corporation that shall engage in the business of collecting, accumulating, buying, selling, storing, disassembling, treating or processing of scrap metal, automobiles not fit for highway use, second hand building materials, rags, bottles, scrap paper and all other items not intended to be repaired for reuse.
An automobile junk or grave yard and any place where scrap metal, second hand building materials, rags, bottles, scrap paper and all other items not intended to be repaired for reuse are collected, accumulated, stored, disassembled, treated or processed.
From and after the effective date of this chapter, it shall be unlawful for any person, persons, firm or corporation to engage in business as a junk dealer or to establish or maintain or operate a junkyard and scrap yard within the limits of Moore Township except as provided in this chapter and in accordance with Chapter 300, Zoning, of the Code of the Township of Moore.
All persons, firms or corporations engaged or intending to operate a business as a junk dealer or maintaining or operating or intending to establish or maintain or operate a junkyard and scrap yard within the limits of Moore Township shall obtain a license from the Township Zoning Officer as hereinafter set forth. Such license shall be renewed annually on or before the first day of January of each year.
Upon the filing of a license application or renewal application and upon payment of a fee in an amount to be established by the Board of Supervisors by resolution, the Township Zoning Officer shall conduct an inspection of the premises to be licensed to determine compliance with the laws and regulations of the United States, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and any applicable ordinances of the Township of Moore. A renewal license will not be issued if the facility is not in compliance with the laws and regulations of the United States, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the ordinances of the Township.
No license shall be issued pursuant to this chapter unless the use is located on a single parcel of land containing a maximum of six acres.
No license issued under this chapter shall be transferable except when the ownership of a licensed premises shall change. In any such case, the new owner and transferee shall immediately pay to the Township Secretary a transfer fee of $10.
A.
A junkyard or scrap yard must be located at least 25 feet from any street, roadway or any property line.
B.
All junkyards and scrap yards shall have parallel aisles or roadways of not less than 10 feet in width and not more than 50 feet apart and intersecting vertical aisles or roadways of not less than 10 feet in width and not more than 500 feet apart. All aisles or roadways must be kept clear of weeds and brush at all times.
C.
All rags, bottles and scrap paper must be kept within the walls of a building constructed of fire-resistant material, and no garbage or other organic waste shall be stored in such premises.
D.
Such premises shall at all times be maintained so as not to constitute a nuisance or menace to the health of the community or of residents nearby or a place for the breeding of rodents and vermin.
E.
The manner of storage and arrangement of junk 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 firefighting purposes.
F.
The burning of motor vehicles, parts thereof, oil, grease, tires, gasoline or other similar materials that might be dangerous or tend to produce obnoxious smoke or odors is hereby prohibited within a junkyard or scrap yard.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. III)]
Any person who violates or permits a violation of this chapter shall, upon being found liable therefor in a civil enforcement proceeding commenced by the Township before a Magisterial District Judge, pay a fine of not more than $600, plus all court costs, including reasonable attorneys' fees, incurred by the Township in the enforcement of this chapter. If the defendant neither pays nor timely appeals the judgment, the Township may enforce the judgment pursuant to the applicable Rules of Civil Procedure. Each day a violation exists shall constitute a separate offense. Further, the appropriate officers or agents of the Township are hereby authorized to seek equitable relief, including injunction, to enforce compliance herewith.
This chapter shall become effective five days after adoption.
In the event 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, it being the intent of the Township that such remainder shall be in full force and effect.
All ordinances or parts of ordinances inconsistent herewith, including but not limited to Ordinance Nos. 6, 1981-3 and 1991-7, are hereby and the same repealed.