[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Council
of the Township of West Milford 6-1-1988 by Ord. No. 1988-13. Amendments noted
where applicable.]
As used in this chapter, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
Any old or used scrap metal, excluding auto parts, old papers,
old rags, old refrigerators and appliances, old rubber, old glass,
used or secondhand building materials and any other material of similar
character except that toxic materials shall not be considered "junk."
Any premises, yard or part thereof set aside for the purpose of storing, purchasing or selling, repairing, dismantling, recycling or refacing junk, provided that the terms do not apply to recycling centers established by the Township for the separation and collection of designated recyclable materials pursuant to the Mandatory Recycling Act, P.L. 1987, Ch. 102; provided further that nonprofit civic organizations need only comply with § 195-7, Regulations. Under no circumstances shall toxic materials be stored or processed.
A place where automobiles or other motor vehicles are kept
and dismantled for the purpose of storing, selling or offering for
sale parts or as junk, metal or material.
A.
No person shall keep, maintain or operate a motor
vehicle junkyard without obtaining a motor vehicle junkyard license,
in accordance with the provisions of this chapter. No person shall
keep, maintain or operate a junk shop or recycling center without
a junk shop and recycling center license, in accordance with the provisions
of this chapter. Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to prohibit
any person from holding both licenses.
B.
All licenses provided for in this chapter shall expire
on October 31 at 12:00 midnight prevailing time. Applications for
renewal of licenses shall be made not later than October 1 prior to
the new licensing year.
The fee for the licenses required by this chapter for the whole or any part of the license year is included in Chapter 135, Fees and Costs.
In addition to the information specified in § 203-2 of the Township Code, an application for a license under this chapter shall include the following:
A.
A map of the land and premises drawn at a scale of
at least 50 feet per inch, showing the dimensions thereof and the
location of fencing, buildings, landscaping, access drives, parking,
storage areas for the various types of junk, buffer areas and all
other physical aspects of the operation.
B.
Proof of ownership of the licensed premises or proof
of a lease covering the license period.
C.
If the applicant is not the owner of the land and
premises, the consent of the owner for the use thereof for the establishment,
operation or maintenance of a motor vehicle junkyard, junk shop or
recycling center, as defined by this chapter, shall be appended to
the application.
D.
Any other information which the Township Council may
deem necessary and proper for the full protection of the public.
A.
Upon receipt of an application for a license under
this chapter, the Township Clerk shall forward copies of the application
to the Chief of Police, Construction Official, Fire Official, Zoning
Officer and Health Officer.
(1)
The Chief of Police or his designee shall conduct
an investigation of the proposed licensed premises and of the persons
named on the application to determine the truth of the facts set forth
therein.
(2)
The Construction Official, Fire Official and Health
Officer shall review the application and inspect the premises to determine
whether the proposed licensed premises complies with existing state
and Township regulations and codes within their respective jurisdictions.
B.
Within a reasonable time, the Chief of Police, Construction
Official, Fire Official, Zoning Officer and Health Officer shall forward
a written report on the application and proposed licensed premises
to the Township Clerk on a form prescribed by the Township Administrator.
The Township Clerk shall present said application and accompanying
reports to the Township Council at its next meeting.
[Amended 9-1-2004 by Ord. No. 2004-6]
A.
In passing upon an application for a license under
this chapter, the Township Council shall take the following matters
into consideration:
(1)
Whether the applicant has ever been convicted of a
crime or crimes bearing upon the applicant's qualifications for the
maintenance and operation of a junkyard, junk shop or recycling center.
(2)
Whether the maintenance and operation of a junkyard
at the proposed location would be materially injurious to the public
health, morals, comfort, prosperity, convenience or otherwise detrimental
to the general welfare of the surrounding properties or to the inhabitants
of the Township of West Milford.
(3)
Whether the maintenance and operation of a junkyard
at the proposed location would produce or be likely to produce a condition
materially offensive to the senses of sight, hearing and smell and
thus injure the public welfare.
(4)
Whether the maintenance and operation of a junkyard
cannot be conducted at the proposed location in full compliance with
the provisions of this chapter.
B.
If any of the aforementioned criteria are answered
in the affirmative, the application shall be denied.
C.
Considering the land area and population of the Township,
the availability of other existing junkyards, junk shops and recycling
centers in neighboring communities, the size and potential for nuisance
of such operations, the character of the Township as a predominantly
residential community containing within its borders substantial state-owned
property, including Greenwood Lake, and the regulatory requirements
necessitated by the existence of junkyards, junk shops and recycling
centers in the Township, no more than three motor vehicle junkyard
licenses nor more than three junk shop or recycling center licenses
shall be issued and outstanding at the same time.
D.
If, on the basis of the information contained in the
application and reports, the Township Council determines that the
applicant and the proposed licensed premises has complied with the
requirements of this chapter and all other Township ordinances and
all applicable state statutes and regulations, the license shall be
granted.
The following shall apply except to the extent
that any regulation conflicts with state statute or regulation:
A.
No motor vehicle junkyard, junk shop, recycling center
or business thereof shall be located or maintained within 200 feet
of a dwelling house, other than the dwelling located on the licensed
premises, or within 200 feet of a school or church, or within 200
feet of the right-of-way line of a public road.
B.
Every junkyard shall be and remain blocked or screened
from the view of passersby on the public thoroughfares on which the
junkyard shall abut and from the view of persons on the ground level
of adjacent properties, by a solid fence securely supported, surrounding
the portion of the licensed premises on which the junkyard is conducted,
said fence being no less than 200 feet from any public street, road
or other thoroughfare, of a height of eight feet from the average
ground level of the yard and screened by approved planting of such
kind, height, proximity of planting and density of growth as shall
effectively, in conjunction with the fence, screen the yard in all
seasons of the years. No fence or planting shall be required where
a building of one story or more in height located in, along or near
the perimeter of the yard shall itself furnish, in conjunction with
fence or planting, an effective screen. No fence or planting shall
be required where entrances to or exits from the yard are provided,
provided that the entrances and exits shall be equipped with solid
gates of a height of six feet above the adjacent sidewalk.
C.
It shall be unlawful to stack, pile or place motor
vehicles, parts of motor vehicles or any other junk or materials upon
such premises in such a manner as to create a place for the harboring
or breeding of mice, rats or other vermin or to stack, pile or place
junk above the height of the boundary fence surrounding the premises.
D.
Entrance and exit gates shall be maintained in good
working order and condition. They and the posts on which they hang
shall be painted when erected and at least every three years thereafter.
The gate or gates shall be securely closed and locked so as to prohibit
any entrance to the said enclosure when the said enclosure may or
shall be unattended; provided, however, that the Division of Fire
Suppression must have access to the junkyard at all times. A key shall
be issued to the fire company responsible for fire protection of that
particular site.
E.
The granting of a license shall not confer approval
of any state statute or local ordinance, and the applicant shall present
proof that such use is permitted.
F.
No material of any explosive nature shall be maintained
or stored or detonated on any premises, except as done in accordance
with the existing regulations of the West Milford Fire Prevention
Bureau.
G.
No more than one sign shall be permitted, which sign
shall be no more than 25 square feet in dimension.
H.
The premises shall be maintained in a clean and sanitary
manner, free from infestation by rodents or other pests and in a manner
which will not constitute a nuisance to the surrounding properties
or to the public at large and which will not be detrimental to the
health, safety and welfare of the surrounding properties or to the
public at large.
I.
No junkyard, junk shop or recycling center shall be
operated before 7:30 a.m. or after 7:00 p.m., but this section shall
not preclude the departure from the yard between 7:00 p.m. and 7:30
a.m. of one or more loaded trucks carting junk from the yard nor the
admission into the yard of one or more trucks bringing junk to it
between 7:00 p.m. and 7:30 a.m.; nor shall it preclude the entry into
the yard of trucks owned or controlled by the proprietor, whether
loaded or empty, at any hour of the day, except that they shall not
be loaded or unloaded before 7:30 a.m. nor after 7:00 p.m.
J.
The licensee and/or operator of said junkyard shall
not burn or cause to be burned any of the junk or refuse resulting
from the operation of the said junkyard, or in the process of dismantling
and/or breaking up of any junk. The licensee and/or operator of said
junkyard shall not cause, or permit to be caused, any obnoxious fumes
and/or odors to emanate from the operation of the said junkyard.
K.
Any motor vehicle junkyard, junk shop, recycling center
or business thereof, used for the storage, dismantling, or source-separation
of materials which contain fluids for the operation of motors and/or
engines, shall establish, maintain and utilize a staging area, constructed
of an impervious material, for the collection of said fluids during
any dismantling or source-separation.
L.
The licensee shall maintain sufficient fire extinguishers
on the licensed premises at all times, and shall also establish fire
protection according to standards recommended by the National Board
of Fire Underwriters and the Fire Prevention Code of the Township
of West Milford[1] for such premises.
M.
In the case of motor vehicle junkyards, dismantling
of motor vehicles shall be prohibited on Sundays, but sale of motor
vehicle parts shall be permitted.
N.
Any licensee convicted of possession of stolen goods
or any crime bearing upon the licensee's qualifications shall have
his license revoked. No person convicted of possession of stolen goods
or a similar or related crime shall be employed by or be associated
with a licensee.
O.
All storage areas should have a buffer for purposes
of screening around them of a strip not less than 25 feet wide, consisting
of a mixture of existing vegetation, new plant materials, fences,
walls and/or berms.
P.
No license issued under this chapter shall be assigned
or transferred to any other person, firm, association, partnership
or corporation, or transferred from one location to another.
[1]
Editor's Note: Former § 195-8, Monitoring wells,
was repealed 10-4-2023 by Ord. No. 2023-023.
A.
Any and all Township departments shall be hereby authorized
and directed, during reasonable business hours, to make no less than
an annual inspection of all licensed premises and buildings for the
purpose of ascertaining that the business is being conducted on the
licensed premises in accordance with the provisions hereof, and that
no laws, rules and regulations are violated. Every Township department
shall submit a written report on its annual inspection to the Township
Administrator.
[Amended 9-1-2004 by Ord. No. 2004-6]
