[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Martinsburg
as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 10-11-1989]
It is hereby determined by the Town Board that the operation
of dumps or facilities for the disposal of garbage and rubbish in
the Town of Martinsburg are likely to constitute a hazard and menace
to the health and safety of the residents of the Town of Martinsburg
and it is the intent of this article to prohibit the operation of
dumps and facilities for the disposal of garbage and rubbish in the
Town of Martinsburg.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
A place used for disposal and leaving of paper, rubbish,
and waste material of any nature by the public or by any person as
herein defined.
An incinerator or any place where waste, food material, cans,
bottles and containers for food, dead animals or parts thereof, vegetable
matter of any kind, or any other matter which shall be inflammable
or capable of fermentation or decay, including sewage waste, may be
placed or left for disposal by the public or any persons.
Includes any individual, firm, partnership, corporation,
municipality or municipal corporation, other than the Town of Martinsburg,
or any associations of persons and the singular shall include the
plural number.
The operation or maintenance of a dump or facility for the disposal
of garbage and rubbish as the same as herein defined is hereby prohibited
in the Town of Martinsburg.
Nothing herein contained shall be deemed to prohibit any person
from disposing of rubbish, waste material, and garbage on property
upon which such rubbish, waste material and garbage is produced.
[Amended 8-21-2013 by L.L. No. 2-2013]
Any person violating any of the provisions of this article shall
be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof shall be punishable
by a fine not exceeding $250 for each offense and/or by imprisonment
for a period not exceeding 60 days or by both such fine or imprisonment.
The Town Board of the Town of Martinsburg shall have the power
to bring civil action to restrain any violation of this article.
[Adopted 12-21-2011 by L.L. No. 2-2011; amended in its entirety 3-16-2022 by L.L. No. 1-2022]
The Town Board of the Town of Martinsburg, pursuant to the authority
granted in Article 4 of the Town Law and §§ 10 and
20 of the Municipal Home Rule Law, hereby enacts as follows.
The Town Board of the Town of Martinsburg hereby declares that
a clean, wholesome and attractive environment is of vital importance
to the continued general health, safety and welfare of its citizens
and that regulation for the deposit, accumulation, or maintenance
of junk, regardless of quantity, is hereby prohibited by means of
the adoption of minimum standards. By adoption of this article, the
municipality declares its intent to preserve and promote a reasonable
quality of environment and aesthetics and to prohibit actions and
conduct that end to depreciate not only the property on which it is
located but also the property of other persons in the neighborhood
and the community generally.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
Ordinary household or store trash such as paper, barrels,
cartons, boxes, bags, discarded plastic storage materials, crates,
furniture, rugs, clothing, rags, mattresses blankets, tires, lumber,
brick, stone and other building materials no longer intended or in
condition for ordinary use; and any and all tangible personal property
or implements no longer intended or in condition for ordinary and
customary use, including vehicles and appliances, as defined below.
The person(s) appointed by the governing board to enforce
the provisions of law.
Any scrap, waste, reclaimable material, or debris, whether
or not stored, for sale or in the process of being dismantled, destroyed,
processed, salvaged, stored, baled, disposed, or other use or disposition,
including tires, vehicle parts, equipment, paper, rags, metal, glass,
building materials, household appliances, machinery, brush, wood and
lumber.
Any household appliance, including but not limited to a stove,
washing machine, dryer, dishwasher, freezer, refrigerator, air conditioner,
heating unit, storage containers, water heater or television, which
is stored outside of any residence or structure.
Farm machinery or farming implements which are either abandoned,
wrecked, discarded or dismantled. [Agriculture equipment requiring
extensive repair and of no value for parts for working equipment on
an idle farm.]
Abandoned, discarded or irreparably damaged furniture, including,
but not limited to, sofas, lounge chairs, mattresses, bed frames,
desks, tables, chairs and chests of drawers which is stored outside
of any residence or structure.
Any enclosed dwelling built upon a chassis, motor vehicle,
or trailer used or designed to be used for either permanent or temporary
living or sleeping purposes, including motor homes, truck campers,
camping trailers, campers, travel trailers, pop-up trailers, tent
trailers and overnight haulers. To qualify as a junk mobile home,
the dwelling must meet two out of three of the following conditions
for six months or more:
Any motor vehicle, whether all-terrain vehicle, automobile,
bus, trailer, truck, tractor, motor home, motorcycle, mini-bicycle,
or snowmobile, or any other device originally intended for travel
on the public highways, which meets all of the following conditions:
The fact that a motor vehicle does not display a current motor
vehicle registration or license plate shall be presumptive evidence
that such motor vehicle is not in condition for legal use upon the
highways.
Junk motor vehicle also applies to any motor vehicle not required
to be licensed or a motor vehicle not usually used on public highways
(such as ATV, farm and construction heavy equipment, timber harvesting,
golfcarts, etc.); the fact that such motor vehicle is not in condition
to be removed under its own power shall be presumptive evidence that
such motor vehicle is a junk motor vehicle unless refuted by verifiable
and credible proof.
The areas of any real property used or intended to be used
for the placement, storage or deposit of one or more of the following:
junk appliances, junk furniture, junk mobile homes and junk motor
vehicles.
The outdoor storage or deposit of any of the following:
Two or more junk vehicles;
One or more abandoned mobile homes or recreational camping vehicles;
Two or more abandoned all-terrain vehicles or snowmobiles (as
defined in the New York State Vehicle and Traffic Law);
Two or more inoperable appliances including but not limited
to, lawn and garden machines, washers, dryers, dishwashers, stoves,
refrigerators, freezers and televisions; (see above)
Two or more inoperable pieces of equipment;
Any combination of the above, or parts of the above, that total
two or more items.
Storage other than in a completely enclosed structure, such
as a garage or barn.
A person, other than a lien holder, having possession or
title to a motor vehicle. The term includes a person entitled to the
use and possession of a motor vehicle subject to a security interest
in another person and also includes any lessee or bailee of a motor
vehicle having the exclusive use thereof, under a lease or otherwise,
for a period of greater than 30 days.
An individual, partnership, association, corporation, or
entity of any other kind.
The following conditions are declared to be and deemed to be
unlawful nuisances and the maintenance of such nuisances is hereby
prohibited in the Town of Martinsburg. It shall be unlawful for any
owner of real property within the Town, whether individual, firm or
corporation lawfully occupying any real property within the Town,
to permit:
A.
The deposit, accumulation or storage of clutter, litter, debris,
junk appliances, junk furniture, junk mobile homes, junk vehicles,
junk furniture or junk farm machinery and implements, regardless of
quantity (except as permitted by demolition), is hereby prohibited
within sight of persons traveling the public highways or within sight
of neighboring property. The provisions of this article shall also
be applicable to conditions existing at the time of enactment.
B.
It shall be unlawful for any person to use a bus, uninhabited mobile
home, truck, truck trailer, horse trailer, semitrailer, tank truck
or similar vehicles or units for the storage of junk on any premises.
Exceptions shall be made for the temporary use of such vehicles or
units for construction purposes for periods of less than 90 days,
or when actively used in connection with active farming or agricultural
operations.
C.
Deposit of snow.
(1)
It shall be unlawful for any persons to deposit, pile or place or
cause to be deposited, piled or placed on any corner, lot, plowed
or shoveled snow piles such that the piles interfere with the visibility
of vehicular traffic at such corners.
(2)
It shall be unlawful for any person to deposit, pile or place, or
cause to be deposited, piled or placed, plowed or shoveled snow, or
to blow snow as to cover or obstruct the accessibility of fire hydrants.
(3)
In the event of an emergency, the Town Board, upon determining that
an emergency exists, may take immediate corrective action without
further notice to the owners or occupants.
A.
Section 185-11 shall not apply to the storage or placement on the premises of the following material:
(1)
Wood intended for consumption in a wood-burning stove, furnace or
fireplace located in a building on the premises.
(2)
Lawn or yard or garden ornaments and implements.
(3)
Lawn and patio furniture.
(4)
Operable farm, garden and yard machinery and apparatus used on the
premises.
(5)
Standing fences.
(6)
Hoses and sprinklers used for watering lawns or gardens.
(7)
Storage or placement and accumulation of materials in connection
with a commercial operation duly conducted on the premises where such
storage, placement and accumulation are expressly permitted by the
laws of the municipality.
(8)
Construction materials and equipment used for the construction or
renovation of a building on the premises for which a building permit
has been issued.
B.
The following conditions are hereby excluded:
(2)
Seasonal vehicles including but not limited to snowplows and race
cars or machinery during their off season if kept in a location not
visible from any road, street or highway, when practicable.
(3)
An antique or classic motor vehicle or farm implement which is in
the process of being restored may be kept so long as inside a building,
covered, or stored outside of public view.
(a)
Antique or classic motor vehicle or farm implement. A motor vehicle or farm implement but not a reproduction thereof, manufactured more than 25 years' prior to the current year, which has been maintained in or restored to, or will be maintained in or restored to, a condition which is substantially in conformance with the manufacturer's specification. [Store same as Subsection B(3).]
(b)
Classic motor vehicle or farm implement. A motor vehicle or farm implement, but not a reproduction thereof, manufactured more than 10 years' prior to the current year or which because of discontinued production and limited availability, is considered to be a model or make of significant value to collectors or exhibitors, stored same as Subsection B(3).
(4)
Farm machinery where such machinery is actively used, including tractors
and unlicensed vehicles which are not driven on public roads. In the
off season, farm machinery shall be stored in a reasonable compact
area away from any road, street or highway and concealed, when practicable.
Owners of any lot or building shall be responsible for any violation
which occurs on that lot, whether or not that owner actually occupies
the lot or building. In addition to the responsibilities of owners,
any occupant of a lot or building may also be responsible for the
condition of that lot and subject to the penalties of this article.
A.
The enforcement officer is hereby empowered to enforce this article.
He or she shall be responsible for the initial determination whether
a condition is hazardous or unsafe.
B.
Notice of violation.
(1)
The enforcement officer shall (by state law provides no more than
30 days to remedy) give notice to any owner or occupant of a lot or
building of any violation of this article. Such notice shall specify
the nature of the violation and the action needed to correct the violation
and shall state a reasonable period of time in which to do so. The
notice shall further state that in the event that the owner does not
correct the condition within the specified time, other enforcement
action will be taken in accordance with this article.
(2)
In the event that the owner or occupant of the lot does not comply
with the violation notice within the time set by the enforcement officer,
the enforcement officer shall report the same to the Town Board. The
Town Board shall, except in the event of an emergency, thereupon direct
notice the enforcement office to serve upon the occupant stating that
if the condition is not remedied within an additional 30 days as established
by the Town Board, that the Town Board shall seek further enforcement
under this article, which enforcement may include one or more of the
following. To select this option, the Town Board must first give the
appropriate individual either personally or by certified mail to that
person's last known address at least 10 days before the hearing
and posting of the notice on that premises. Such notice shall advise
the date, time, and place of the hearing, the right to present evidence
and witnesses in their defense and their right to be represented by
an attorney.
(a)
The Town may seek the imposition of a monetary penalty in a court of competent jurisdiction as set forth in § 185-15.
(b)
The Town may seek injunctive relief in a New York Supreme Court.
(c)
In the event of any emergency, the Town Board, upon determining
that such emergency exists, may take immediate corrective action without
further notice.
A.
Any person, firm or corporation which shall be found to be in violation
of the provisions of this article, shall be guilty of an offense which
shall be punishable by a fine of $250 for a first offense, $500 for
a second offense and $1,500 for a third offense or by imprisonment
for a period of not more than 15 days, or both such fine and imprisonment.
Each week of continued violation shall be considered a separate offense.
B.
If found to be in violation, a property owner can apply for a Lewis
County Junkyard permit and will be required to comply with all regulations
required by such law.
