[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Commissioners (now Town Council) of the Town of Phillipsburg 12-26-1951 by Ord. No. 688, effective 1-1-1952 (Ch. 32 of the 1969 Code). Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Abandoned and inoperable vehicles  — See Ch. 597.
Zoning — See Ch. 625.
[Added 6-19-1990 by Ord. No. O:90-13]
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
JUNKYARD
The use of any space, whether inside or outside a building, for the storage, keeping or abandonment of junk, including scrap metals or other scrap materials, or for the dismantling, demolition or abandonment of automobiles or other vehicles or machinery or parts thereof.
[1]
Editor's Note: Original § 32-1, License required; § 32-2, Definition; § 32-3, Application; § 32-4, Conditions; § 32-5, Limiting the number of licensees; § 32-6, Consent of owner; § 32-7, Privileges of licensee; and § 32-8, Tax receipt required, of the 1969 Code, which previously preceded this section, were repealed 9-11-1973 by Ord. No. O:73-13.
The Town Council shall issue all licenses under this chapter, and they shall be good and valid from the date of issue until the 31st day of December next after granting the same.
[Amended 6-19-1969 by Ord. No. 998; 9-11-1979 by Ord. No. O:79-29; 12-20-1983 by Ord. No. O:83-32; 1-7-1986 by Ord. No. O:85-28; 8-1-1989 by Ord. No. O:89-27]
All persons, firms or corporations operating junkyards as the principal use and receiving such license or licenses shall pay to the Town of Phillipsburg an annual fee of $650.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Former § 32-10B, which set the license fee for junkyards operated as accessory uses and which immediately followed this subsection, was deleted 4-16-1991 by Ord. No. O:91-12.
Every person, firm, partnership or corporation to whom such license may be issued shall, when engaging in business within the Town of Phillipsburg, be in possession of such license, and is hereby required to have such license on exhibition at all times.
The property upon which said business shall be conducted shall be enclosed by a hedge not less than six feet high nor more than eight feet high. Said hedge shall be kept in a trimmed and neat condition at all times. A period of five years shall be allowed for the hedge to reach the minimum height herein set forth. Where said property is either entirely or partly bounded by a natural barrier, such as a high bank, the Town Council may waive the erection of a hedge as to that part of the property bounded by the said natural barrier. This section shall not preclude the erection of a different type of enclosure, such as a brick or stone wall, wooden fence or cyclone fence, but this cannot be done without the consent of the Town Council.
Any licensee, or the person in charge of any licensed premises who shall receive or be in possession of any goods, articles or things which may have been stolen or lost, or alleged or specified to have been stolen or lost, shall forthwith, upon demand to view the same, present the same to the Chief of Police or any other officer or representative of the Town.
All goods, articles, merchandise or motor vehicles must be stored and kept within the enclosed fence above described, and not upon the sidewalk, street or any part thereof.
No licensee or his agent shall knowingly buy, sell, receive, dispose of, conceal or have in his possession any motor vehicle from which the manufacturer's serial number or any other number or identification mark has been removed, defaced, altered, covered or destroyed for the purpose of concealing the identity of such vehicle.
[Amended 6-19-1969 by Ord. No. 998]
A license in burning junk shall comply with the provisions of the New Jersey State Air Pollution Code.
It shall be unlawful for any licensee to stack, pile or place any of the aforesaid secondhand materials upon the licensed premises in such a manner as to create a fire hazard, or to create a place for the harboring or breeding of rats, mice or vermin.
[Amended 12-18-2007 by Ord. No. O:2007-24]
Any member of the Town Council, Board of Health, the Building Inspector, the Chief of Police or any authorized agent of the Town shall have the right at any and at all reasonable times to inspect any or all parts of the licensed premises.
[Amended 5-12-1970 by Ord. No. 70-1009; 4-9-2025 by Ord. No. O:2025-06]
A. 
It shall be unlawful for persons to deposit or leave any abandoned or unlicensed automobile, truck or other automotive equipment, or any part thereof, or other junk, in open fields or upon other unfenced private property without first obtaining the permission of the Business Administrator and of the owner of such private property.
B. 
Any violation of this section to which the defendant chooses to plead "guilty" shall result in a fine as follows:
(1) 
Plea of guilty: $150.
[1]
Editor's Note: For additional regulations pertaining to abandonment of automobiles, see Ch. 597, Vehicles, Abandoned and Inoperable.
[Amended 6-5-1984 by Ord. No. O:84-18]
Any person, firm or corporation who shall violate a provision of this chapter or fail to comply therewith or who shall violate or fail to comply with any order or regulation made thereunder shall, severally for each and every such violation and noncompliance, be punished as provided in Chapter 1, General Provisions, Article II, General Penalty. The imposition of a penalty for a violation of this chapter shall not excuse the violation or permit it to continue. Such violations shall be remedied within a reasonable time, and each 10 days that such violation is permitted to exist shall constitute a separate offense. The application of the above penalty shall not be held to prevent the enforced removal of prohibited conditions.