Town of Moreau, NY Junkyards

This chapter is adopted pursuant to the authority granted the Town of Moreau in § 10 of the Municipal Home Rule Law and in § 130(6) and 130(15) of Town Law.

This chapter shall be known as the "Town of Moreau Junkyard Law."

The purpose of this chapter is to regulate only junkyards operated commercially for a profit. The Town Board hereby declares that a clean, wholesome and attractive environment is of vital importance to the continued welfare of its citizens. Regulation of junk and junkyards is necessary to protect the community from potential hazards to property and persons, to protect water resources, and to preserve the aesthetic qualities of the Town. The presence of unregulated junkyards is unsightly and tends to depreciate not only the property on which they are located but also the property of other persons in the neighborhood and the community generally.

§ 87-2 Definitions.

For the purpose of this chapter, the following words and phrases shall have the meaning ascribed to them in this chapter:

ENFORCEMENT OFFICER

The Building Inspector/Code Enforcement Officer, or any person appointed by the Town Board to enforce the provisions of this chapter.

JUNK APPLIANCE

Any abandoned, discarded or inoperative household appliance, including but not limited to a stove, washing machine, dryer, dishwasher, freezer, refrigerator, air conditioner, or television, which is stored outside of any residence or structure.

JUNK FURNITURE

Abandoned, discarded or irreparably damaged furniture, including but not limited to sofas, lounge chairs, mattresses, bed frames, desks, tables, chairs, chest of drawers and like items.

JUNK MOBILE HOME

Any enclosed dwelling built upon a chassis or trailer used or designed to be used for either permanent or temporary living and/or sleeping purposes which meets two out of three of the following conditions for six months or more:

The electrical service is disconnected or terminated.

It is abandoned as a dwelling unit.

It is no longer habitable for permanent or temporary living and/or sleeping purposes.

JUNK STORAGE AREA

The areas of any real property used or intended to be used for the placement, storage or deposit of one or more of the following; junk appliances, junk furniture, junk mobile homes, and/or junk vehicles.

JUNK VEHICLE

Any motor vehicle, motor home or recreational vehicle, including camping trailers, campers, travel trailers, pop-up trailers, tent trailers, overnight trailers and/or used parts or waste materials from a motor vehicle, which is:

(1)

Unlicensed or unregistered and not in condition for legal use upon the public highway.

(2)

Abandoned, wrecked, stored, discarded, dismantled, or partly dismantled.

With respect to any motor vehicle not required to be licensed or a motor vehicle not usually used on public highways, the fact that such motor vehicle is not in condition to be removed under its own power shall be presumptive evidence that such motor vehicle is a junk vehicle, unless refitted by verifiable and credible proof.

JUNKYARD

The outdoor storage or deposit of any of the following:

Any junk motor vehicles or junk recreational vehicles.

Any junk mobile homes.

Any junk appliances.

Any junk furniture.

Any combination of the above.

OTHER MOTOR VEHICLE

All vehicles propelled or drawn by power other than muscular power, including but not limited to airplane, heavy equipment, motorcycle, and all-terrain vehicle or snowmobile.

OUTDOOR STORAGE

Storage other than a completely enclosed structure, such as a garage or barn.

PERSON

Any individual, firm, partnership, association, corporation, company, or organization of any kind.

§ 87-3 License required.

No person shall establish or maintain a junkyard within the Town of Moreau unless a license has first been issued for such junkyard pursuant to this chapter. No person owning, or having any right to or any interest in, any real property within the Town of Moreau shall license, rent, lease, or otherwise permit the use of such real property or of any part thereof for a junkyard unless a license shall have first been issued for such junkyard pursuant to this chapter. A license shall be issued for a period of one year, after which time a renewal shall be required.

§ 87-4 Application for license; approved location.

The applicant for a junkyard license shall obtain application forms from the Town Clerk. The original completed forms along with 15 copies of the proposed junkyard plan, and the appropriate fees, shall be returned to the Town Clerk. The Clerk shall submit the application materials to the Town Board. The Town Board shall accept the application and refer the application forms and plans to the Town of Moreau Planning Board to conduct a site plan review pursuant to Article VI of the Town of Moreau Zoning Law.

The junkyard plan shall be prepared by a licensed professional and shall be drawn to scale or indicate all dimensions and shall include, at the minimum, the following information:

(1)

Map of the site where the junkyard is proposed, including address and real property tax number;

(2)

Property lines, including the names of owners of adjacent property;

(3)

Streams, lakes, wetlands, floodplains, and other water bodies, including those available for fire protection purposes;

(4)

The topography of the site and any plans for grading the property;

(5)

Wells and sanitary facilities;

(6)

Drainage patterns on the site;

(7)

Existing and proposed structures, including fences;

(8)

Roads and easements adjacent to, on or through said property;

(9)

Existing and proposed junk storage areas, indicating the type of junk or material which will be stored in each area; and

(10)

Existing and proposed accessways, aisles, parking and loading areas.

A full environmental assessment form (EAF) shall be completed and submitted with all applications pursuant to the provisions of the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA). Upon review of the completed EAF, the lead agency shall determine whether or not the proposed junkyard may have a significant adverse impact on the environment. If the lead agency determines that the proposed junkyard may have a significant adverse impact upon the environment, a draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) shall be prepared in accordance with the SEQRA regulations. Where a positive declaration is issued, the application shall not be deemed complete until the lead agency has accepted the DEIS as complete.

An application fee shall be established by a resolution of the Town Board. The fee shall accompany all applications.

The Planning Board shall conduct a site plan review pursuant to Chapter 149, Zoning, Article VI, Site Plan Review, of the Code of the Town of Moreau. A resolution, detailing the decision of the Planning Board shall be forwarded to the Town Board. Site Plan approval shall be conditioned upon applicant receiving a junkyard license as herein provided.

Within 62 days of the receipt of the Planning Board decision, the Town Board shall render a decision on the application for a junkyard license based upon general considerations and the ability to meet the junkyard regulations. The sixty-two-day period may be extended by the Town Board for good cause. The Town Board shall have the authority to impose reasonable conditions and restrictions as are directly related to and incidental to the proposed junkyard license.

If the application is approved by the Town Board, a junkyard license shall be issued by the Clerk. If the application is approved with conditions, the Clerk shall issue a junkyard license upon notification by the Building Inspector/Code Enforcement Officer that said conditions have been complied with. Approval shall be personal to the applicant and not assignable. Licenses shall be renewed thereafter upon payment of the annual license fee without hearing, provided that all provisions of this chapter are complied with during the licensed period and the junkyard or activity or business does not become a public nuisance.

Where the Town Board finds that due to special circumstances of the particular case, a waiver of certain requirements of this chapter are justified, then a waiver may be granted. No waiver shall be granted, however, unless the Board finds, and records in its minutes, that:

(1)

Granting the waiver would be keeping with the intent and spirit of this chapter and is in the best interest of the community;

(2)

There are special circumstances involved in the particular case;

(3)

Denying the waiver would result in undue hardship to the applicant, provided that such hardship has not been self-imposed;

(4)

The waiver is the minimum necessary to accomplish the purpose.

§ 87-5 General considerations.

In order to protect the clean, wholesome, safe and attractive environment of the community, the Town Board shall take the following factors into consideration in granting or denying a license:

(1)

Type of road servicing the junkyard or from which the junkyard can be seen;

(2)

Natural or artificial barriers protecting the junkyard from view;

(3)

Proximity of the site to established residential or recreational areas or main access route thereto;

(4)

The nature and development of surrounding property;

(5)

Whether or not the proposed location will affect the public health and safety by reason of offensive or unhealthy noise, odors or smoke, or of other causes;

(6)

The proximity of floodplains, groundwater supplies, and public water supplies;

(7)

Local drainage patterns;

(8)

The availability of fire protection and the adequacy of the water supply for fire protection purposes;

(9)

The Comprehensive Plan for the Town;

(10)

Availability of other suitable sites for the junkyard;

(11)

The type of junk to be stored or deposited in the junkyard.

§ 87-6 Specific requirements.

No junk storage area shall be located within:

(1)

One hundred feet of any adjoining property line;

(2)

Five hundred feet of the property line of any public park, church, educational facility, nursing home, public building or other place of public gathering;

(3)

One hundred feet of any stream, lake, pond, wetland or other body of water; or

(4)

One hundred feet from the property line of any public highway.

There must be erected and maintained an eight-foot-high fence enclosing the entire junkyard and a locking gate, adequate to prohibit the entrance of children and others into the area of the activity or business, and to contain within such fence all junk appliances, junk furniture, junk mobile homes, junk vehicles and materials originating from such items. Fencing requirements may be waived where topography or other natural conditions effectively prohibit the entrance of children and others to the junkyard, provided screening is not necessary pursuant to Subsection C of this article.

Where a junkyard is or would be visible from a public highway or from neighboring properties, the fence provided in Subsection B above shall be of wood or other materials sufficient to totally screen the junkyard from view of such roadways or neighboring properties. Such screening may be permitted by adequate planting of evergreen trees or shrubbery.

The Town Board shall specify in the junkyard license which types of junk may be stored or deposited in the junk storage area. No items shall be stored in any junk storage area other than those items specified on a junkyard license approved by the Town Board pursuant to this chapter.

No materials shall be burned in a junkyard.

§ 87-7 Administration and enforcement; penalties for offenses.

The Enforcement Officer may, and upon request of the Town Board shall, make inspections of any junkyard for which application for a license has been made or a license has been granted, and shall report to the Town Board on the conditions of such junkyard. The Enforcement Officer shall make periodic inspections of the Town to ensure that all existing junkyards have a license and the requirements of this chapter are met.

Revocation of license for noncompliance; hearing; notice.

(1)

The Town Board may revoke a junkyard license upon reasonable cause should the applicant fail to comply with any provision of this chapter or any condition of the license. Before a license may be revoked, a public bearing shall be held by the Board. Notice of the hearing shall be made in the official newspaper at least five days prior to the date thereof. The license holder shall be notified of the hearing by written notice prior to the hearing. Written notice shall be served in one of two ways:

(a)

By personal service of a copy of the notice at least 10 days prior to the date of the hearing; or

(b)

By certified mail, return receipt requested, addressed to the last known address of the property owner or occupant. If said certified mail is refused or returned, service upon the property owner or occupant shall be made by mailing a copy of the notice by first-class mail to the address of the property owner or occupant in a post office or official depository under the exclusive care and custody of the United States Postal Service within the State of New York. Notice served according to this paragraph shall be served at least 15 days prior to the date of the hearing. Service shall be deemed complete upon depositing the notice in an official depository of the United States Postal Service within the State of New York.

(2)

At the hearing, the Board shall hear the license holder and all other persons wishing to be heard on the revocation of the junkyard license. Should the Board decide to revoke a license, the reason for such revocation shall be stated in the Board minutes. The license holder shall be immediately notified of the revocation by certified mail. Should any junkyard license be revoked, the operator shall cease and desist from operating a junkyard. All junk appliances, junk furniture, junk mobile homes, junk vehicles and materials originating from such items shall be removed from the premises within 60 days by the license holder.

If the Enforcement Officer shall find that an alleged junkyard exists without the necessary license, the Enforcement Officer is hereby authorized pursuant to Criminal Procedure Law § 150.20(3) to issue an appearance ticket to any person the Enforcement Officer has reason to believe has violated this chapter, and shall cause such person to appear before the Town Justice.

Any person who shall violate any of the provisions of this chapter shall be guilty of a violation and subject to the following: a fine not to exceed $500 or imprisonment for a period not to exceed 15 days, or both. Every such person shall be deemed guilty of a separate violation for each day such violation, disobedience, omission, neglect or refusal shall continue. The Town Board may also maintain an action or proceeding in the name of the Town in a court of competent jurisdiction to compel compliance with or restrain by injunction the violation of any provision of this chapter.