The provisions of this chapter shall be subject to such exceptions,
additions or modifications as herein provided by the following supplemental
regulations.
No lot area, though it may consist of one or more adjacent lots
of record, shall be reduced in area so that the yard lot area per
family, lot width, building area or other requirements of this chapter
are not maintained, public utilities excepted.
Subject to the following conditions, fences may be erected along
the boundaries of a lot:
A. On any corner lot, no wall, fence, sign or other structure shall
be erected or altered, and no hedge, tree, shrub or other growth shall
be permitted which may cause danger to traffic on a street by obscuring
the view.
B. No solid hedge or growth shall be planted or permitted to grow higher
than three feet in height on any property line or street right-of-way
line between the front or side street so that the sight distance from
any adjacent driveway onto a public highway or sidewalk is restricted.
Notwithstanding the limitations imposed by any other provisions
of this chapter, the Zoning Officer may permit erection of a structure
on any lot of record separately owned or under contract of sale and
containing, at the time of the passage of this chapter, an area or
a width smaller than that required in this chapter. In no case shall
any structure be permitted within five feet of a lot line.
In order to prevent the creation of a traffic hazard by limiting
visibility at a street intersection, no structure, building, earthen
bank or vegetation exceeding 3.5 feet in height above the finished
paved area at the center of the roadway shall be allowed within the
clear sight triangle on corner lots.
Essential service installations as defined in this chapter,
shall be permitted subject to restrictions recommended by the Planning
Commission and approved by the Board of Supervisors with respect to
use, design, yard area, setback and height.
No lot or premises shall be used as a storage area for junk
automobiles, appliances or the storage or collection of any other
miscellaneous items. Also, no lot or premises shall be used as a garbage
dump or a dead animal rendering plant nor may rubbish or miscellaneous
refuse be stored in the open where the same may be construed as a
menace to the public health or safety.
[Amended 9-3-1985 by Res.
No. 218]
A. Purpose and intent. It is the purpose and intent of this section
to promote and protect public health so as to prevent the accumulation
of excessive rubbish and junk and the development of potential public
health nuisances through the accumulation of unsanitary conditions.
Further, it is to protect the safety and general welfare of the public
by eliminating unattractive nuisances and unsafe conditions; at the
same time to protect property values of adjacent property owners by
regulating and licensing junk dealers in accordance with the current
provisions of 53 P.S. § 66532(a)(4).
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. I)]
B. Definitions. The following words shall for the purposes of this section
have the following meanings:
BOARD
Board of Supervisors of Charleston Township.
JUNK
Any discarded material, and shall include, but not be limited
to, scrap metal, two or more abandoned, inoperable and/or unlicensed
motor vehicles, machinery or equipment. It shall not include paper,
glass, containers and structures. It shall not include garbage kept
in a proper container for the purpose of prompt disposal.
JUNK DEALER
Any person, as hereinafter defined, who shall engage in the
business of selling, buying, salvaging and dealing in junk and who
maintains and operates a junkyard within the Township of Charleston.
JUNKYARD
Any place where any junk as hereinafter defined is stored
or disposed of.
LICENSE
The permit granted to a person who accumulates, stores or
disposes of junk as hereinbefore defined.
PERSON
Any individual, partnership, association and corporation.
TOWNSHIP
Charleston Township, Tioga County.
C. License required. No person shall hereafter engage in business as
a junk dealer in the Township without first having obtained a license
from the Supervisors, for which license the fee could be $200, the
maximum permitted by law, for each and every calendar year. Such license
shall be renewed annually on or before the first day of January of
each year. In case where a junk dealer business shall be established
in the Township on or after the first day of July in any year, the
license fee payable by such junk dealer for the remainder of such
year shall be at 1/2 the yearly rate.
D. Application for license. The license provided for in this section
shall be issued by the Board after written application has been made
by the person or persons desiring to be licensed. The application
form shall be provided by the Board. The license shall state the name
of the person to whom such license is issued, the premises on which
business is to be conducted, and the written consent of the property
owner to use the property as a junkyard. The applicant shall also
submit a plot of the premises to be used. Such license shall be posted
conspicuously upon the premises licensed.
E. Issuance of license. Upon receipt of an application by the Board,
Board shall issue a license or refuse to issue license to person applying
therefor after taking into consideration the effect of the proposed
use upon the Township, both economic and aesthetic. In the event the
Board shall issue a license, it may impose upon the person applying
therefor such conditions as may be deemed necessary to carry out the
intent and purpose of this section.
F. License limitation. No person licensed under this section shall,
by virtue of one license, keep more than one place of business within
the Township for purpose of dealing in junk dealer in any place other
than place designated upon his license.
G. Transfer of license. No license issued by Board shall be transferable by licensee to any other person unless such transfer is authorized by Board. Any person desiring to transfer license shall notify Board in writing, which notification shall be accompanied by transferee's application for license as described in §
300-611D. In the event the Board approves a transfer of location or license, they may impose such conditions as may be deemed necessary to carry out the purpose and intent of this section.
H. Transfer fee. In event Board shall approve transfer of license, the
transferee shall immediately pay to Township a transfer fee of $100.
I. Operational standards. Every person who stores junk in this Township
shall constantly maintain the premises in accordance with any special
provisions imposed by the Board and in the manner prescribed by this
section and any subsequent regulations adopted by the Board.
(1)
Such premises shall at all times be maintained so as not to
constitute nuisance or menace to health of community or of residents
nearby or a place for the breeding of rodents and vermin.
(2)
Whenever any motor vehicle shall be received on such premises
as junk, all gasoline shall be drained and removed therefrom. Gasoline
in an amount not exceeding 10 gallons may be stored above ground,
provided same be placed in containers approved by Board. All other
gasoline which is kept on premises shall be stored underground, which
underground storage must be approved by Board.
(3)
The premises on which junk is stored shall be set back a minimum
distance of 250 feet from the right-of-way lines on all streets or
roads and a minimum distance of 50 feet from all other property lines.
The area between the setback lines and the right-of-way line and all
streets and roads and all other property lines shall at all times
be kept clear and vacant.
(4)
Any premises on which junk is stored shall at the setback lines
be enclosed by evergreen screen plantings or a uniformly painted solid-board
fence, or both. The type of evergreen screen plantings and fencing
used and the way they are set out must be approved by the Board at
the time of the issuance of a license or at the time of renewal or
transfer of license.
(5)
All junk shall be stored in such a manner and screened so as
not to be readily accessible or visible from the street or public
road. Junk shall not be stored above the height of the screen plantings
or fencing.
(6)
All signs displayed on the licensed premises shall be approved
by the Board; but in no case shall the total area of any one sign
exceed four feet by eight feet.
(7)
No oil, grease, tires, gasoline or other similar material that
might be dangerous or tend to produce obnoxious smoke or odors shall
be burned within a junkyard at any time. Burning must be attended
and controlled at all times.
(8)
The manner of storage and arrangement of junk and the drainage
facilities of the premises shall be such so as to prevent the accumulation
of stagnant water upon the premises and to facilitate access for firefighting
purposes.
J. Additional standards. Any person who has only one abandoned and/or
unlicensed motor vehicle on his or her premises shall keep that abandoned
and/or unlicensed motor vehicle a minimum distance of 500 feet from
the right-of-way lines on all streets or roads and a minimum distance
of 50 feet from all other property lines, if this is possible. If
this is not possible, then the abandoned and/or unlicensed motor vehicle
shall be kept at the back side of the premises so far from all streets
and roads as possible, so as not to be visible from all streets and
roads.
K. Compliance. Each person subject to this section shall have six months
from the time the section becomes effective to comply with the provisions
of this section.
L. Records. Every person licensed under this section shall provide and
shall constantly keep a book in which shall be fairly written down
in the English language at the time of the purchase of any junk, a
description of every article or material purchased or received by
him, the date and hour of such purchase and the person from whom such
article or material was purchased, received or handled by such person,
and the said book shall at all times be subject to the inspection
of any official of the Township.
M. Delay in disposal. Every person licensed under this section shall
keep and retain upon the licensed premises, for a period of 48 hours
after the purchase or receipt thereof, all junk received or purchased
by him, and he shall not disturb or reduce the same or alter the original
form, shape or condition until such period of 48 hours shall have
elapsed.
N. Violations. Any person who violates or permits a violation of this
section 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 section. 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.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. I)]
O. Abatement of nuisances. In addition to the remedies provided in §
300-611N above, any continued violations of this section which shall constitute a nuisance in fact or which shall in the opinion of the Board constitute a nuisance, may be abated by proceeding against the violator in a court of equity for relief.
P. Severability. If any subsection of this section shall be found to
be invalid, the other subsections of the section shall not be affected
thereby.
Q. Effective date. This section shall become effective five days after
adoption.
Sanitary landfills, where authorized as a conditional use, shall
be regulated by the applicable laws of the Pennsylvania Department
of Environmental Protection.