Any place used or maintained by any person, partnership, or
corporation as a junkyard or dumping ground, or for the wrecking or
disassembling of automobiles, trucks, tractors, or machinery of any
kind, or for the storing or leaving of worn-out, wrecked, or abandoned
automobiles, trucks, tractors, or machinery of any kind, or of any
of the parts thereof, or for the maintenance or operation of such
place for the accumulation of rubbish of any description, is hereby
declared to be a public and common nuisance, being obnoxious and offensive
to the inhabitants of the city, because of its interference with the
comfortable enjoyment of life and property by said inhabitants, and
is prohibited within the city limits, unless the same is conducted
in the manner hereafter stated, following the payment of the license
fee hereafter prescribed.
(1987 Code, ch. 4, sec. 4A; 2004
Code, sec. 4.401)
Any person, partnership, or corporation desiring to use or maintain any property within the city for any of the purposes mentioned in section 4.06.001 hereof shall make written application to the chief of police for a license, which said application shall set forth the name and address of the applicant and a legal description of the property or premises upon which said business is to be conducted, and the city manager or his/her designee shall have the power either to grant or reject such application. If the application is granted, a license to operate such business shall be issued by the city manager or his/her designee upon the payment of a fee as set forth in the fee schedule in appendix A of this code. Any license so issued shall expire on January 1 next succeeding the date of its issuance, but may be renewed from year to year in like manner as is provided for the original license.
(1987 Code, ch. 4, sec. 4B; Ordinance 707 adopted 6/10/03; 2004 Code, sec. 4.402; Ordinance adopting
2021 Code)
Each application shall be accompanied by a bond in the penal
sum of $2,000.00 payable to the city, with at least two (2) good and
sufficient sureties or sufficient collateral security, approved by
the city council, conditioned that during the term of the license
the applicant will duly observe all laws, ordinances, rules and regulations
which are now in force or which may hereafter become applicable to
junk dealers.
(1987 Code, ch. 4, sec. 4C; 2004
Code, sec. 4.403)
When any such application has been made, the city manager or
his/her designee shall at once report the same to the chief of police,
city health officer, fire chief, and building inspector. It shall
thereupon become the duty of each of said city officials to inspect
or cause to be inspected the place where the business of such junk
dealer is to be carried on, and to determine whether such place of
business complies with all applicable laws, ordinances, rules and
regulations. The place where such junk dealer conducts his business,
and all buildings situated thereon, shall be so constructed and maintained
that such junk dealer may carry on his business in a sanitary manner.
No fire hazard shall be contained thereon, and said place of business
shall be so arranged that a proper inspection may be made at any time
by the duly authorized health, fire, building, and police authorities.
(1987 Code, ch. 4, sec. 4D; Ordinance 707 adopted 6/10/03; 2004 Code, sec. 4.404)
No junk dealer shall carry on his business at any place other
than the one designated in his license, nor shall said business be
carried on at any time after the suspension, revocation, or expiration
of said license.
(1987 Code, ch. 4, sec. 4E; 2004
Code, sec. 4.405)
No junk dealer shall purchase, receive, or in any wise acquire
any junk from any person under the age of eighteen (18) years, or
from any habitual drunkard, or from any insane person.
(1987 Code, ch. 4, sec. 4F; 2004
Code, sec. 4.406)
All junk received by any junk dealer shall be retained for a
period of forty-eight (48) hours before it is disposed of by said
dealer, but this provision shall not apply to old rags or paper.
(1987 Code, ch. 4, sec. 4G; 2004
Code, sec. 4.407)
Each holder of a junk dealer’s license shall at all times
cause the same to be posted in a conspicuous place on the premises
described in the application for such license for such period of time
as said license may remain in full force and effect. No person shall
post said license upon any property or premises other than those described
in the application therefor, and no person shall knowingly permit
said license to be defaced or destroyed.
(1987 Code, ch. 4, sec. 4H; 2004
Code, sec. 4.408)
In the case of motor vehicles, and in addition to the above
requirements, said record shall contain all serial numbers, engine
numbers, or other identifying numbers, the make, style, model, color,
and license number of the automobile from which the same were taken.
(1987 Code, ch. 4, sec. 4I; 2004
Code, sec. 4.409)
No licensee and no employee of any licensee shall wreck, tear
down, paint, or otherwise destroy the identity of any secondhand motor
vehicle, nor allow the same or any part thereof to be taken out of
his possession, until forty-eight (48) hours after the report has
been made to the chief of police; provided, however, that the chief
of police may, after a proper report has been duly made to him, grant
a special permit allowing said secondhand motor vehicle, or part thereof,
to be sold or disposed of and delivered to another within a period
of time less than said forty-eight (48) hours after said chief of
police has satisfied himself that there is no question as to the ownership
of such motor vehicle, or part thereof.
(1987 Code, ch. 4, sec. 4J; 2004
Code, sec. 4.410)
No junk dealer shall buy, receive, sell or otherwise dispose
of any motor vehicle, or part thereof, from which the manufacturer’s
serial number or other identification mark has been removed, defaced,
covered, altered, or destroyed. Any junk dealer to whom is offered
for sale or delivery any motor vehicle, or part thereof, from which
has been removed, defaced, covered, altered, or destroyed the manufacturer’s
serial number or other identification mark shall immediately notify
the chief of police to that effect.
(1987 Code, ch. 4, sec. 4K; 2004
Code, sec. 4.411)
Any person, partnership, or corporation granted a license as provided for in section 4.06.002 hereof shall keep the premises used in the operation and maintenance of said business in a neat and orderly condition. The property and premises on which such business is conducted shall be enclosed by a tight board fence at least eight (8) feet high, and said fence shall be kept in a neatly painted condition, and no junk of any character, or parts, or machinery of any kind shall be allowed to remain outside such fence; provided, however, that any existing business of this character now being operated and maintained in the city shall be allowed six (6) months within which to construct a fence of the kind and character required hereby.
(1987 Code, ch. 4, sec. 4L; 2004
Code, sec. 4.412)
The city council shall have the power to revoke the license
provided for herein at any time for good cause, but only after notice
has been given to the owner or owners of the business of a hearing
to be held not less than ten (10) days after the service of such notice.
(1987 Code, ch. 4, sec. 4M; 2004
Code, sec. 4.413)
Each vehicle kept or used by a junk dealer in the pursuit of
his business shall be plainly marked on each side with the name of
the licensee, the name and number of the street where his business
is located, the words “Junk Dealer”, “Lake Worth,
Texas,” and his license number in plain letters and figures
at least two inches (2") high and of such color as to be plainly legible
at a distance of sixty (60) feet. The same information shall be contained
in and displayed on a sign to be placed at the front of the place
where each junk dealer carries on his business.
(1987 Code, ch. 4, sec. 4N; 2004
Code, sec. 4.414)
Any person violating any of the provisions of this article,
or who, having had his license revoked, continues his business as
a junk dealer, shall upon conviction be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor.
Each day during which any violation of this article occurs shall constitute
a separate offense. In addition to the penalties imposed hereinabove,
the offender’s license as a junk dealer shall be cancelled,
and his bond shall be forfeited. In the event of such forfeiture,
the amount due upon said bond may be recovered in an ordinary civil
action.
(1987 Code, ch. 4, sec. 4O; 2004
Code, sec. 4.415)
