[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Supervisors
of Falls Township 12-27-1984 by Ord. No. 84-7. Amendments noted where
applicable.]
Except where otherwise indicated by context,
the following definitions shall apply in the interpretation and enforcement
of this chapter:
The area of a junkyard as described in a junk dealer's license
or application for a license, as provided for in this chapter.
The Falls Township Department of Community Development.
The Director of the Falls Township Department of Community
Development.
The duly appointed Fire Marshal of the township.
Old iron, steel, brass, copper, tin, lead or other base materials;
old cordage, ropes, rags, fibers or fabrics; old rubber; old bottles
or other glass; bones; plastics, wastepaper and other waste or discarded
material which might be prepared to be used again in some form; and
motor vehicles, no longer used as such, to be used for scrap metal
or stripping of parts.
A person who operates a junkyard, as defined above within
the township.
A yard, lot or place, covered or uncovered, outdoors or in
an enclosed building, containing junk as defined above, upon which
occurs one or more acts of buying, keeping, dismantling, processing,
selling or offering for sale any such junk, in whole units or by parts,
for a business or commercial purpose, whether or not the proceeds
from such act or acts are to be used for charity.
Any person, firm, partnership, association, corporation,
company or organization of any kind.
The Township of Falls, Bucks County, Pennsylvania.
It shall be unlawful for any person to maintain
a junkyard in the Township of Falls, whether personally, by agents
or employees, singly or along with some other business or enterprise,
without first having obtained a license therefor from the Director
of the Department of Community Development with the approval of the
Fire Marshal in accordance with the provisions of this chapter. Any
person who operates or maintains more than one junkyard within the
township shall be required to have in effect a separate license for
each yard.
It is hereby made the duty of the Director to
enforce or aid in the enforcement of all provisions of this chapter,
and for this purpose any of the above members of the Department or
their duly authorized representatives shall have the right and are
hereby empowered to enter upon any premises on which any business
subject to the provisions of this chapter is located, or about to
be located, and inspect the same at any reasonable time. The Department
is further empowered to issue orders granting, renewing and revoking
any license provided for in accordance with the provisions of this
chapter.
A.
An applicant for license under this chapter shall
file with the Director a written application, signed by himself if
an individual, by all partners if a partnership and by the president
or chief officer if a corporation or other organization, upon forms
provided by the Director. The application shall include the following
as a minimum:
(1)
A description or plan sufficient to identify the property
and the size of the property on which the junkyard is to be conducted,
and the area presently being used for operation of said junkyard.
(2)
A detailed description of the operation proposed to
be conducted, or being conducted.
(3)
An agreement that the owner of the property and the operator, or proposed operator, of the junkyard will provide the security required by Subsection B below.
(4)
A check or cash for the amount of the license fee
for one year as herein provided.
B.
An applicant for a junkyard license shall execute
and deposit with the Township of Falls either cash or a bond with
surety of a reputable insurance company in the amount of $1,000, such
bond to be conditioned to insure that operation of the junkyard shall
be in strict compliance with the terms of this chapter and with all
other governmental laws, ordinances, rules and regulations. A cash
deposit will be deposited in an interest-bearing escrow account, with
interest accruing to the township.
Upon receipt of an application for a junkyard
license as provided for herein, the Director shall cause an investigation
to be made of the applicants business responsibility. The proposed
or existing premises and equipment with which the junkyard is being
or is to be operated shall be examined by the Director or his duly
authorized representatives. If the Director finds that the applicant's
business responsibility is satisfactory and that the proposed or existing
buildings or equipment with which the junkyard is being or is to be
operated conform to the requirements of the Building Code, Zoning
Ordinance, the requirements of this chapter and other applicable laws
or ordinances, a license shall be issued to the applicant upon payment
of the fee prescribed by this chapter.
A.
Any license or renewal license issued hereunder shall
be effective as of the date of its issue and shall expire at the end
of the calendar year.
B.
An applicant for a renewal license shall file with
the Director a written application upon forms provided by the Director,
signed and sworn to in the same manner required in the case of an
original application with the fees as provided by this chapter.
The annual fee to be paid for any license or
renewal license issued hereunder shall be $200.
No license issued under this chapter shall be
transferred or assigned or used by any person other than the one to
whom it was issued, and no junkyard license shall be used at any location
other than the one described in the application upon which it was
issued.
Whenever the operation or maintenance of a junkyard
is discontinued or abandoned, the operator and the owner of the land
shall both be responsible for the removal of all junk and the cleaning
up on the site. If they fail in this task, the township may perform
it or have it performed by others and may collect the cost thereof
from the licensee and/or from the security which it holds and/or by
exercising any other remedy at law or equity.
The following general operating requirements
shall apply to all junkyards licensed in accordance with the provisions
of this chapter:
A.
The license issued pursuant to this chapter shall
be plainly displayed on the business premises.
B.
The junkyard, together with the things kept therein,
shall at all times be maintained in a sanitary condition.
C.
No space not covered by the license shall be used
in the licensed business.
D.
No water shall be allowed to stand in any place on
the premises in such a manner as to afford a breeding place for mosquitoes.
E.
Weeds and vegetation on the premises, other than trees,
shall be kept at a height of not more than four inches.
F.
No refuse or other waste liable to give off a foul
odor or attract vermin shall be kept on the premises; nor shall any
refuse of any kind be kept on the premises. unless such refuse is
junk, as defined herein, and is in use in the licensed business.
G.
No junk shall be allowed to rest upon or protrude
over any public street, walkway or curb or become scattered or blown
off the business premises.
H.
Junk shall be stored in piles not exceeding 10 feet
in height and shall be arranged so as to permit easy access to all
such junk for fire-fighting purposes.
I.
No combustible material of any kind not necessary
or beneficial to the licensed business shall be kept on the premises;
nor shall the premises be allowed to become a fire hazard.
J.
Gasoline and oil and radiator water shall be drained
into containers from any scrapped engines or vehicles on the premises,
and are not permitted to be drained on the ground. The containers
of this effluent must be removed from the premises.
K.
No junk or other materials shall be burned on the
premises in any incinerator not meeting the requirements of the Building
Code and the regulations pertaining to incinerators in the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania; and no junk or other materials shall be burned on
the premises in the open.
L.
No noisy processing of junk or other noisy activity
shall be carried on in connection with the licensed business on Sunday,
Christmas Day, Thanksgiving Day or at any time between the hours of
6:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m.
M.
The area on the premises where junk is kept (other
than indoors) shall be enclosed, except for entrances and exits, with
a solid, vertical wall or fence, to be opaque, constructed of wood,
metal, plastic or masonry, with a minimum height of 10 feet measured
from ground level. Entrances and exits shall not be wider or more
numerous than reasonably necessary for the conduct of the licensed
business. All materials for fences and/or walls must be in good condition,
and the fences or walls must be constructed in a workmanlike manner.
N.
The licensee shall permit inspection of the business
premises by any member or representative of a member of the Department
at any reasonable time.
O.
No junkyard dealer licensed hereunder or his agent
or employee shall purchase or receive any junk for use in the licensed
business from any person under the age of 21 years without the written
consent of a parent or guardian of such person. Such writing shall
be held available for inspection by any member or representative of
a member of the Department for a period of at least one year.
P.
No junkyard shall be allowed to become a nuisance;
nor shall any junkyard be operated in such a manner as to become injurious
to the health, safety or welfare of the community or of any residents
close by; nor in violation of the law.
Q.
The operator shall keep a log book of the title numbers
and make of all junked automobiles and trucks and the date that they
were obtained and the date they were junked.
The Director or his duly authorized representatives
shall inspect the junkyards of all junk dealers licensed under this
chapter at least once a year to determine whether such yards are being
operated in accordance with the laws of this chapter and other applicable
provisions of law.
When the Director determines that the public
interest so requires, it shall revoke or suspend the license of any
junkyard when it finds, after due investigation, that:
A.
The junk dealer or any agent or officer of such dealer
who takes part in the operation of the licensed yard is not capable
of operating the licensed yard or carrying on the licensed activity
in a good manner consistent with public health, safety and welfare.
B.
The junk dealer has failed to comply with the provisions
of this chapter or any provision of civil or criminal law applicable
to the premises, equipment or operation of the licensed business.
C.
The licensee has obtained his license through any
fraud or misstatement.
D.
The licensed yard or activity is being conducted in
a manner detrimental to the health, safety or general welfare of the
public or is a nuisance or is being operated or carried on in any
unlawful manner.
Any person aggrieved by an order of the Director
granting, denying, renewing or revoking a license for a proposed or
existing yard or activity subject to the provisions of this chapter
may file a written request for a hearing before the Board of Supervisors
within 10 days after issuance of such order. The Board of Supervisors
shall give notice of a public hearing upon this request to be held
in not less than 30 days after service of the notice of the person
requesting the hearing. The Director shall also give notice of the
hearing to other persons directly interested in the order in question.
At such hearing the Board of Supervisors shall determine whether the
granting, denial, renewal or revocation of the license was in accordance
with the provisions of this chapter and shall issue an order which
will be filed with the Township Secretary and served upon all parties
appearing or represented at said hearing.
Any person maintaining a junkyard within the
township on the effective date of this chapter shall have a period
of 90 days after such effective date to comply with the provisions
of this chapter.
[Amended 7-28-1988 by Ord. No. 88-13; 1-25-2001 by Ord. No. 2001-1]
Any person, firm or corporation who violates
or permits a violation of this chapter shall be subject to a civil
enforcement proceeding and, upon conviction, shall be sentenced to
pay a civil penalty of not more than $600, plus all court costs, including
reasonable attorney's fees, incurred by the township in the enforcement
of this chapter. Further, the appropriate officers or agents of the
township are hereby authorized to file a complaint for such violation
and seek any other available relief at law or equity, including injunction,
to enforce compliance with this chapter. Each day that such violation
is continued after notice shall constitute a new and separate offense,
punishable by like civil penalty; and further notices to the offender
shall not be necessary in order to constitute such continuance as
an additional offense or offenses.
