[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Supervisors of the Township of Upper Mount Bethel 8-21-1995 by Ord. No. 95-5. Amendments noted where applicable.]
This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "Upper Mount Bethel Township Junkyard Ordinance."
Except where otherwise clearly indicated by context, the following definitions shall apply in the interpretation and enforcement of this chapter.
ABANDONED OR JUNKED MOTOR VEHICLE
Any motor vehicle outside of an enclosed building, stored for resale as junk metal, or stored for selling parts therefrom.
BOARD
The Board of Supervisors of Upper Mount Bethel Township.
BUSINESS PREMISES or PREMISES
The area of a junkyard as described in a junk dealer's application for license as provided for in this chapter.
JUNK
Includes, but is not limited to, metals, or scrapped metals, cordage, ropes, rags, fibers, rubbers, bottles, glass, plastics, bones, or other waste or discarded material, including storage of vehicles and building materials. Also included are stored abandoned vehicles or machinery. Excluded by this definition are objects or materials held and used by a manufacturer as an integral part of his own manufacturing process. Also excluded is refuse or garbage kept in a proper container for the purpose of prompt disposal.
JUNKYARD
A yard, lot or place, covered or uncovered, outdoors or in an enclosed building, containing "junk," as defined herein, upon which occurs one or more acts of buying, keeping, dismantling, processing, selling, or offering for sale any such junk, in whole units or by parts, for a business or commercial purpose, whether or not the proceeds from such act or acts are to be used for charity.
LICENSE
The permit granted to a junk dealer on a yearly basis.
PERSON
The individual, partnership, company, firm, association, or corporation engaged which holds legal or equitable title to the land on which the junkyard exists or is situated, including his agents, subcontractors or employees.
TOWNSHIP
Upper Mount Bethel Township, Northampton County, Pennsylvania.
It shall be unlawful for any person to act as a junk dealer in the Township, whether personally, by agents or employees, singly, or along with some other business or enterprise, without first having obtained a license from the Township in accordance with the provisions of this chapter. Said license fee shall be set annually by the Board of Supervisors, said fee to be for the use of the Township. Said license shall be renewed on or before the first working day of January of each year. Provided, in any case where a person begins to engage in the business of a junk dealer in the Township on or after July 1 in any year, the license fee payable for the remainder of such year shall be at half the yearly rate. Said license shall state the name of the person to whom such license is issued and the premises at which such business is to be conducted, or such junkyard is to be maintained.
The license provided for in this chapter shall only be issued with the approval of the Board after written application and all other approvals as required per Chapter 350, Zoning, have been met. If, upon inspection, the Board has determined that the premises to be licensed are in compliance with all Township regulations and with the regulations in § 164-6 of this chapter, said license shall be issued.
No person shall engage in business as a junk dealer in any place other than the place designated upon his license. A junk dealer who operates more than one junkyard within the Township shall be required to have in effect a separate license for each said junkyard.
Every person licensed under this chapter shall consistently maintain the licensed premises in accordance with this chapter and any special provisions prescribed by the Board along with any subsequent regulations adopted by the Board. The following regulations shall apply to all licensed junk dealers at all times:
A. 
The license issued pursuant to this chapter shall be plainly displayed on the business premises;
B. 
No garbage or sewage waste shall be stored on such premises;
C. 
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;
D. 
All side, front, and rear side yard setbacks shall be maintained; in instances where any setback is less than 25 feet, a 25 feet setback shall be maintained;
E. 
The area between the setback line and the right-of-way line of all public streets and roads and all other property lines shall be kept clear and vacant;
F. 
No space not covered by the license shall be used in the licensed business;[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Original Subsection (g), which regarded the maximum allowable height of weeds and vegetation other than trees, which immediately followed this subsection, was repealed at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I); see now § 80-1.
G. 
No junk shall be stored in piles exceeding the height limitations for that district and shall be arranged so as to permit easy access to all such junk for firefighting purposes;
H. 
The area on the premises where junk is kept, other than indoors, shall be enclosed, except for entrances and exits, with a solid vertical wall or fence, of a minimum height of six feet measured from the ground level. Entrances and exits shall not be wider or more numerous than reasonably necessary for the conduct of the licensed business;
I. 
No junkyard shall be allowed to become a public nuisance, nor shall any junkyard operate in such a manner as to become injurious to the health, safety, or welfare of the community.
No license issued under this chapter shall be transferred or assigned or used by any person other than the one to whom it was issued without first notifying the Township for transfer, and no junk dealer's license shall be issued at any location other than the one prescribed in the application upon which it was issued.
The Zoning Officer of the Township is hereby given the duty to enforce or aid in the enforcement of all provisions of this chapter, and for this purpose, he or his duly authorized designee shall have the right and is hereby empowered to enter on any premises on which any business subject to the provisions of this chapter is located, or about to be located, and to inspect the same at any reasonable time. The Zoning Officer is further empowered to issue the renewing of any license provided for in accordance with the provisions of this chapter.
Any junk dealer which has violated the provisions of this chapter shall, upon being found liable therefore in a civil enforcement proceeding commenced by the Township, pay a judgement of not more than $500, plus all court costs, including reasonable attorneys' fees, incurred as result thereof. Each day that a violation is continued shall constitute a separate offense. The procedure for imposition of a liability in a civil enforcement proceeding initiated by the Zoning Officer without prior consent of the Board of Supervisors shall be set forth in the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code[1], as further provided in § 350-54E(1) of Chapter 350, Zoning.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 10101 et seq.
The provisions of this chapter shall be severable and if any of the provisions hereof shall be held unconstitutional, void, or otherwise unenforceable such shall not affect the validity of any remaining provisions of said Ordinance.
This chapter shall apply only to those junkyards which come into existence after the effective date of this chapter. All junkyards which were in existence at the time this chapter is enacted shall be regulated solely by Upper Mount Bethel Township's Junkyard Ordinance No. 205. All preexisting junkyards shall be registered with the Township's Zoning Officer within six months from the enactment of this chapter.
All ordinances or parts of ordinances conflicting with any of the provisions of this chapter are hereby repealed insofar as the same affects this chapter, including but not limited to any prior ordinances.