Unless it is apparent from the context that a different meaning is intended, the following words, as used in this article, shall have the meaning ascribed to them:
Junk.
Includes scrap iron, tin, brass, copper, lead, zinc, and all other metallic substances, secondhand watches, knives, guns, cameras, jewelry, fishing equipment, and similar items handled, purchased, received, or offered for sale by dealers in junk, and shall mean and include secondhand plumbing and electric fixtures, wire, boats, brass pipe, lead pipe and pipes of other metals, melted metals of any kind, parts of machinery or of machines that may be identified as such, any fixture pertaining to a residence or business house or other house of any kind, automobile accessories (including horns, hubcaps, tires, and all detached and detachable parts of any automobile), motorcycles or bicycles or motor vehicles or any vehicles of any kind, hydrants, faucets, lawn hoses, lawn sprinklers, gas fixtures, fittings and appliances, garden tools, mechanical tools of every description, harnesses, rags, rubber, rope, bottles and utensils of every description, televisions, radios, microwave ovens, CB radios, tape players, tapes, tape cassettes, and utensils and other accessories of every description. The enumeration of articles above shall not be held to exclude other articles that may be originally included under the general definition of “junk,” when given its usual trade meaning.
Junk dealer.
Includes any person primarily engaged in collecting, handling, buying, or selling any of the articles defined as “junk” in this section.
(Ordinance adopted 3/12/79, art. I, sec. 1)
Any person violating any of the provisions of this article shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction shall be subject to a in accordance with section 1.01.009 of this code. Each transaction in violation of any of the provisions hereof shall be deemed a separate offense.
(Ordinance adopted 3/12/79, art. II, sec. 1)
(a) 
Every junk dealer, dealer in secondhand material, or person who shall purchase any kind of junk or secondhand material shall keep an accurate record of each item purchased, the time when purchased (the week, month, and year), and an accurate description of the person selling the article, giving the name, race, sex, age, and residence. All such entries shall be made at the time of the purchase.
(b) 
Every junk dealer is hereby required to keep and maintain a record used exclusively for purposes described above, in which at the time of the transaction, and coincident therewith, shall be explicitly, plainly, and intelligently written in ink and in the English language, without alterations and erasures, the name, residence address, and business address of the person or agent, messenger or drayman of such person, the race of the person from whom such junk is purchased or obtained, the nature of the junk, and, if the same is a finished product or several parts of the same, then a separate description of such parts including serial numbers, if any, and any other descriptive marks or symbols shall be listed. Such records shall further contain the source and place from which the junk came or was obtained. When any junk dealer shall receive junk from any common carrier from a point outside the limits of the city, the record herein required to be kept by the junk dealer shall be sufficient if it shows the name of such common carrier, the nature of the material received, and the name and address of the person from whom the same was received.
(Ordinance adopted 3/12/79, art. I, sec. 2)
The records specified in section 4.04.003 shall be accessible at all times to the chief of police of the city or any other peace officer, and all such policemen and peace officers shall have the right to examine such records at all times when searching or looking for lost or stolen articles or when determining whether or not the provisions of this article are being faithfully kept and observed. Any person who refuses to permit any such officer to inspect such records shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor.
(Ordinance adopted 3/12/79, art. I, sec. 3)
Before any junk dealer shall purchase any junk of any description, he shall secure from the person selling the same evidence showing how the same came into the possession of such seller.
(Ordinance adopted 3/12/79, art. I, sec. 4)
No junk shall be sold or removed from the place of business of any junk dealer within forty-eight (48) hours after the same has been purchased or acquired, and all junk received shall be kept separate and apart from all other articles so that the same may be identified for a full forty-eight (48) hours after the same is received. In the event that a dealer desires to sell or dispose of merchandise that has not been in his possession for a full forty-eight (48) hour period, he shall secure from the purchaser the same information and identification that are required by this article for the persons that sell the junk to the dealer.
(Ordinance adopted 3/12/79, art. I, sec. 5)
No junk dealer shall receive or purchase any junk from any intoxicated person or from any person under the age of eighteen (18) years, except upon the written consent of the parent or guardian of such minor, and in the event such sale occurs, [such written consent] shall be preserved by said junk dealer for a period of not less than six (6) months thereafter for public inspection. When any such purchase is made from any minor with such consent, a notation of the same shall be made by such dealer in the books or register required by section 4.04.003.
(Ordinance adopted 3/12/79, art. I, sec. 6)
Every junk dealer shall, at all times, allow the chief of police or any other police officer the privilege of examining all junk for the purpose of ascertaining whether or not the articles are stolen or lost property. All junk so purchased shall be included, whether received at his place of business or elsewhere.
(Ordinance adopted 3/12/79, art. I, sec. 7)
Every junk dealer and dealer in secondhand material shall keep posted in a conspicuous place at his place of business a copy of the regulations prescribed by this article.
(Ordinance adopted 3/12/79, art. I, sec. 8)
It shall be unlawful for any person to use any land or other real property adjacent to and within three hundred (300) feet of any state or federally maintained highway or roadway within the city limits for the purpose of storing any junk, trash, refuse, debris, wrecked automobiles, or wrecked automobile parts.
(Ordinance adopted 3/12/79, art. I, sec. 9)
The property and premises on which any junk business or junkyard is located shall be enclosed by a tight board fence at least six (6) feet high, which fence shall be kept in a neatly painted condition.
(Ordinance adopted 3/12/79, art. I, sec. 10)
No person shall transact or engage in the business of a junk dealer within the corporate limits of the city until he shall have secured an annual license therefor.
(Ordinance adopted 3/12/79, art. I, sec. 11)
An applicant for a junk dealer’s license shall make request therefor in writing to the chief of police. Such application shall contain the name, residence address, and business address of the applicant. In the case of a firm or partnership, the application shall show the individual names of members of the firm or partnership, and, if a corporation, the names of the officers thereof. The application shall contain the following words: “The license hereby applied for shall be subject to all provisions and regulations of ordinances of the City of Yorktown relating to junk and junk dealers.”
(Ordinance adopted 3/12/79, art. I, sec. 12(a))
The application for a junk dealer’s license shall be signed and sworn to by the person applying therefor before some officer authorized by law to administer oaths or, in the case of a partnership or corporation, by one member of the firm or officer or agent of the corporation, and shall be accompanied by a certificate signed by three (3) responsible citizens of the city certifying that the applicant is a safe and proper person to engage in the business of a junk dealer. Such application shall be filed with the chief of police.
(Ordinance adopted 3/12/79, art. I, sec. 12(b))
Upon receipt of an application for a license under this article, the chief of police shall carefully examine the facts of the same and approve or disapprove the application. If the chief of police deems the applicant an unsafe or improper person to be granted a license as a junk dealer, the application shall be disapproved. Whether he shall approve or disapprove the application, the same shall be referred to the city council. The council shall then either approve or disapprove the application; provided, however, that before such disapproval, the council shall give the applicant an opportunity to be heard, giving said applicant written notice of the time and place of the hearing at least five (5) days prior thereto, at which time the applicant shall appear and be heard. After such hearing, if the city council finds such applicant to be an unsafe and improper person to engage in the business of a junk dealer, it may, at its discretion, disapprove the application.
(Ordinance adopted 3/12/79, art. I, sec. 12(c))
Upon compliance with the provisions of this article and upon the approval of the application by the city council, the city tax assessor and collector shall issue the license provided for herein and shall number all such licenses consecutively.
(Ordinance adopted 3/12/79, art. I, sec. 12(d))
Every junk dealer who is issued a license by the city shall display such license in a conspicuous place at such business location.
(Ordinance adopted 3/12/79, art. I, sec. 12(e))
Every license issued under this article shall expire on the thirty-first day of December next after its issuance.
(Ordinance adopted 3/12/79, art. I, sec. 12(f))
Conviction of any person licensed under this article for violating any of the provisions of this article shall be, within the discretion of the city council, sufficient cause for the cancellation of a license.
(Ordinance adopted 3/12/79, art. I, sec. 12(g))