[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Rotterdam 10-10-1957. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Fees — See Ch. 126.
Zoning — See Ch. 270.
No slaughtering house, rendering works or reduction works or establishments shall be operated or maintained hereafter within the Town of Rotterdam, County of Schenectady, New York, unless and until such works and/or establishments have been duly licensed as hereinafter provided for.
A. 
Any person, firm, copartnership, association or corporation desiring to obtain permission to operate or maintain a slaughtering house, rendering or reduction works or establishment shall file with the Town Clerk a written application containing the name and residence of the applicant, together with a map showing the location of the slaughtering house, reduction or rendering works or establishment and all buildings and public highways within a radius of 1,000 feet of such premises. There shall also be submitted as a part of said application the plans and specifications of the building within which the slaughtering, rendering or reduction operation and purposes incidental thereto shall be carried on. Such plans and specifications shall show the material used in the construction of said building and shall also show the methods proposed for the disposal of waste and for the sanitary maintenance of said building.
B. 
Upon receipt of said application the Town Clerk will deliver the same to the Health Officer of the Town of Rotterdam and it shall be the duty of said Town Health Officer of the Town of Rotterdam and/or his duly authorized agent thereupon forthwith to inspect said establishment and/or works sought to be licensed as to conformance with the requirements hereinafter set forth and report the results of his said inspection to said Town Clerk.
The following regulations shall apply to the operation or maintenance of slaughtering houses, rendering or reduction works and/or establishments in the Town of Rotterdam and no permission shall be granted for the operation thereof until said regulations are complied with.
A. 
The building constructed or to be constructed upon said said premises shall conform in all respects as to construction and sanitary facilities prescribed by the laws of the State of New York and the rules and orders of the Department of Health thereof.
B. 
Said premises shall be located within the proper zoning district and, in addition, shall be at a distance of not less than 1,000 feet from any building used for school or church purposes.
C. 
All floors shall be of concrete, properly waterproofed, or of some material impervious to liquids, and shall be so constructed as to be easily cleaned.
D. 
The premises shall have adequate ventilation, and all windows and outer doors shall be adequately screened.
E. 
There shall be maintained a sufficient supply of hot and cold water under adequate pressure for washing and other operating purposes.
F. 
Adequate provisions shall be made for the disposal of all waste matter, and all waste matter shall be kept in metal containers equipped with tight covers and shall be regularly cleaned and sterilized.
G. 
In the case of rendering or reduction works, facilities shall be provided so that, during the cooking process, all odors and gases will be consumed or reduced.
H. 
The applicant shall file with the Town Clerk written permission for the Town Health Officer, or his duly authorized agent, to inspect the premises from time to time.
I. 
The operation of said establishments on the Sabbath Day is hereby prohibited and said premises may be operated on other days of the week only between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 12:00 midnight; emergency slaughtering, however, at other times, may be permitted by the Health Officer and/or his duly authorized agent, to save an injured animal from further pain and suffering.
J. 
All trucks or other means of conveyance used to remove animal waste products not intended for human consumption from slaughterhouses in the Town of Rotterdam shall have watertight truck bodies or shall have appropriate watertight liners in said truck bodies, and the bodies of said trucks or conveyances shall be either completely enclosed or shall have securely fastened tarpaulins or other similar coverings attached to them so as to cover waste material from view and prevent the same from spilling on the ground upon either private property or on the public highway.
[Added 9-6-1972 by L.L. No. 7-1972]
A. 
The license provided for in this chapter shall be issued by the Town Clerk, shall be for a period of one year from January 1, 1958, to December 31, 1958, and said license may be renewed annually thereafter as hereinafter provided for.
B. 
The annual fee for the license provided for in this chapter shall be as set forth in Ch. 126, Fees, payable at the time of the filing of the application.
[Amended 3-12-1986 by L.L. No. 4-1986; 1-25-1989 by L.L. No. 1-1989]
C. 
Written application for renewal licenses, in lieu of setting forth the information required in § 237-2 hereof, shall contain the name and residence of the applicant, the location of the establishment, a statement whether or not there have been any changes in the establishment since the issuance of the original license; and, if so, the nature of such change and/or changes.
All slaughtering houses, rendering works, reduction works or establishments lawfully existing on the effective date of this chapter shall, nevertheless, be subject to all provisions of this chapter other than Subsection B of § 237-3.
The Town Board may revoke any permission heretofore granted by the Town Clerk pursuant to this chapter upon proof that said slaughtering, rendering or reduction works or establishment is being operated in an unwholesome manner so that the same has become a menace to health or that the specifications contained in § 237-3 hereof are being violated. At least 10 days prior to any such revocation, the Town Clerk shall give notice to the applicant of the violation and, also, notify him of the time and place where the hearing and the revocation proceedings will be held. After such hearing, the Town Board may, by resolution, revoke said permission or may temporarily revoke said permission specifying in such temporary revocation the conditions which must be performed before any further operations are conducted.
[Amended 3-12-1986 by L.L. No. 4-1986]
A violation of this chapter and/or any of the regulations herein contained shall be punishable by a fine not exceeding $250 or by imprisonment not exceeding 15 days, or by both such fine and imprisonment or by a penalty of not less than $50 nor more than $500 to be recovered in a civil action commenced by the Town of Rotterdam pursuant to the terms of this chapter. Each day a slaughtering house, rendering or reduction works or establishment is operated or maintained contrary to the provisions of this chapter shall constitute a separate and distinct violation, and such violation shall be punishable as above.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
SLAUGHTERING HOUSE and SLAUGHTERING
The slaughtering of beef, swine, sheep and other four-footed animals.