[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Victor 12-11-1995 as L.L. No. 11-1995. Amendments noted where applicable.]
A clean, wholesome, attractive environment is essential to the health, safety and general welfare of the community and to the maintenance and continued development of the economy. It is hereby declared that the unrestrained accumulation of junk motor vehicles is a hazard to the health, safety and welfare of citizens of the community, necessitating the regulation, restraint and elimination thereof.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
JUNK
Any old, discarded and unusable objects of any kind, of insignificant value, such as vehicles, building, materials, machinery, appliances, furniture, equipment, etc., whether made of metal, fiber or plastics or any other material; old cordage, ropes, rags fibers or fabrics; old rubber, old bottles or other waste or discarded materials; or materials dangerous to health, regardless of their kind, form, shape or nature. Vehicles shall be defined as a motor vehicle as defined under the Vehicle and Traffic Law of the State of New York or any machine designed to be propelled by a means other than muscular power. Any such old or secondhand vehicle shall be considered as "junk," if it is unregistered or uninspected and no longer intended or in condition for legal use on the public highways, or if the cost to repair said vehicle to enable it to pass the New York State inspection laws for motor vehicles shall exceed the value of the vehicle.
JUNKYARD
A yard, lot or place or any place of storage or deposit outdoors where junk is kept or stored, for commercial purposes.
PERSON
Any individual, firm, corporation, partnership, association, limited liability company or any business entity, profit or nonprofit, permitted to do business pursuant to the laws of the State of New York.
No person shall operate, establish, expand, transfer or maintain a junkyard in the Town of Victor without a license as hereinafter provided and a certificate of approval for the location of such junkyard.
A. 
Application for the license and the certificate of approval application shall be made in writing to the Town Board of the Town of Victor. The application shall be accompanied by a certificate of the Code Enforcement Officer that the proposed location is not within an established district restricted against such uses or otherwise contrary to the prohibitions of the Town of Victor Zoning Ordinance.[1] The application shall contain a description of the land to be included within the junkyard.
[1]
Editor's Note: See Ch. 211, Zoning.
B. 
Licenses issued under this chapter shall not be assignable or transferable in any manner. Requests for transfer shall be treated as new applications, and all junkyards must comply with all aspects of this chapter before a license may be transferred.
A. 
A hearing on the application shall be held by the Town Board not less than two (2) nor more than four (4) weeks from the date the application is deemed complete. Notice of the hearing shall be given to the applicant by mail to the address given in the application and shall be published once in a newspaper having a circulation within the Town of Victor, which publication shall be not less than seven (7) days before the date of the hearing. Written notice of such public hearing shall be delivered to persons owning real property within five hundred (500) feet of any line of any premises which is the subject of the application as may appear upon the latest completed assessment roll, such notice to be delivered at least five (5) days before the date set for the public hearing.
B. 
At the time and place set for hearing, the Town Board shall hear the applicant and all other persons wishing to be heard on the application for the license. In considering such application, the Board shall take into account the suitability of the applicant with reference to his ability to comply with fencing requirements or other reasonable regulations concerning the proposed junkyard and to any other matter within the purposes of this chapter. Further, the Town Board shall take into account proof of legal ownership of right to such use of the property for the licensed period by the applicant, the nature and development of surrounding property, its proximity to churches, schools, hospitals, public buildings or other places of public gathering and whether or not the proposed location can be reasonably protected from affecting the public health and safety by reason of offensive of unhealthy odors, smoke or other causes. The Board shall also take into account the clean, wholesome and attractive environment which is considered to be of vital importance to the continued general welfare of citizens, also the type of street or road servicing the junkyard or from which the junkyard will be seen, the natural or artificial barriers protecting the junkyard from view and the proximity of the proposed junkyard to established residential and recreational areas.
After the public hearing, the Town Board shall, within thirty (30) days, determine whether or not the application should be denied, granted or granted with conditions, and give notice of its finding to the applicant by mail. If approved, the license, including the certificate of approved location and any conditions on the license, shall be forthwith issued, to remain in effect until the following August 1. Approval shall be personal to the applicant and not assignable, except with the permission of the Town Board. No approval shall be given to any applicant not in possession of any required state registration or license.
A. 
Licenses may be renewed upon payment of the annual license fee and, where applicable, submission of copies of valid state registration, by March 31 of each year. Within sixty (60) days after receipt of the renewal request, the Code Enforcement Officer shall conduct an inspection of the junkyard premises. If the junkyard is in compliance with the regulations of this chapter and all other applicable local and state laws, and in the opinion of the Town Board the junkyard has not become a public nuisance, the Town Board may renew the license without a hearing.
B. 
If at the time of the annual inspection the Code Enforcement Officer determines that the junkyard is any manner not in compliance with all provisions of this chapter and applicable state and chapter, including possession of a valid state registration, the Code Enforcement Officer shall issue a notice of violation and serve it upon the licensee by First Class mail to the address on the application. The notice of violation shall state each violation and shall constitute an order to cure each such violation. The licensee shall cure each and every violation within thirty (30) days of the date of service by mail of the notice of violation. The Code Enforcement Officer may, but is not required to, extend the period to cure violations for no more than thirty (30) days. If, upon reinspection, the junkyard is in compliance with all provisions of this chapter and applicable state and local laws, the license may renewed in accordance with Subsection A of this section.
C. 
If the licensee does not cure the violations listed in the notice of violation within thirty (30) days, the Town Board shall hold a public hearing to determine whether the license should be revoked or modified. The hearing shall be held by the Town Board no more than thirty (30) days from the date of the expiration of the cure period. Notice of the hearing shall be given to the licensee by mail to the address given in the application and shall be published once in a newspaper having a circulation within the Town of Victor, which publication shall be not less than seven (7) days before the date of the hearing. At the hearing, the licensee shall be afforded an opportunity to be heard and respond to the notice of violations.
D. 
After the public hearing, the Town Board shall, within thirty (30) days, determine whether or not the license should be revoked, renewed or renewed with conditions, and give notice of its finding to the applicant by mail. The Town Board may grant additional time to cure violations and provide for revocation of the license upon failure to cure within that specified time period.
E. 
If a license is not renewed, or if the Town Board revokes any license, or if a license is deemed revoked by the failure to cure violations within the period set by the Town Board, all junkyard operations shall cease within thirty (30) days of the applicable expiration or revocation date.
F. 
Nothing in this section requiring an annual inspection shall limit the right and authority of the Code Enforcement Officer or other designated Town officials to inspect any premises used as a junkyard at any time, or to issue notice of violations or appearance tickets or obtain other civil or criminal remedies, as deemed necessary under the circumstances, at any time. Upon the failure of any licensee to cure any violation within the time frames set out in any notice of violation or order of the Town Board, the Town Board shall be authorized to enter the premises and cure any violation constituting a public nuisance or health hazard, at the expense of the junkyard owner. Nothing in this chapter limits the right of the Town Board to enter the premises and cure any matter constituting a public nuisance or health hazard, at the junkyard owner's expense, prior to the expiration of any cure period, when necessary to protect the health and safety of the public.
An application for a junkyard license shall be accompanied by a nonrefundable fee in such amount as the Town Board of the Town of Victor may from time to time establish by resolution.
A. 
Fire lanes offering adequate access to buildings and storage areas shall be provided and maintained as required under the New York State Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code.
B. 
All junk shall be piled or arranged in neat rows to permit easy, clear passage through the area.
C. 
The licensee shall personally manage the activity for which the license is granted.
D. 
The licensee shall maintain an office and keep permanent books and records which shall be maintained on the premises at all times.
E. 
Gates shall be kept locked in a secure manner whenever the junkyard is not supervised by the licensee or his or her employees.
F. 
No junkyard shall be used as a dump area nor as a place for burning and disposal of trash. No junkyard shall receive any form of putrescible waste. No storage of any solid waste other than junk shall be allowed.
G. 
The Code Enforcement Officer or the Town Board, or any of its representatives, shall be granted access to any junkyard at all reasonable hours to inspect for compliance herewith.
Before use, a new junkyard shall be completely surrounded with a fence at least eight (8) feet in height, or such greater height as the Town Board shall determine which shall substantially screen the junkyard, with a suitable gate which shall be closed and locked except during the working hours of such junkyard or when the applicant or his agent shall be within. Such fence shall be erected not nearer than fifty (50) feet from a public highway. In addition to security, such fence, including any landscaping, shall also provide a visual screen or buffer sufficient to conceal all junk and operations from public view. Fencing and landscaping shall be maintained in such manner as to present a neat and orderly appearance at all times. All motor vehicles and parts thereof stored or deposited by the applicant shall be kept within the enclosure of the junkyard, except as removal is necessary for the transportation of the same in the ordinary course of business, and wrecking or other work on such motor vehicles and parts shall be accomplished within the enclosure.
Within sixty (60) days from the effective date of this chapter, the owner of any established junkyard shall furnish the Town Board with a complete application, together with the license fee, and the Town Board shall issue him a license valid until next March 31, by which time such owner shall apply for renewal as herein provided. Such owner shall comply with all other provisions of this chapter, including the fencing requirement as set forth in § 128-10. Where appropriate, the Town Board may allow established junkyards up to six (6) months to comply with this chapter. Further, where practical difficulties or unnecessary hardship so require, the Town Board may waive in whole or in part the fifty-foot separation between fence and property line requirement of § 128-10, but no other provision.
Notwithstanding any of the foregoing provisions of this chapter and the Town of Victor Zoning Code,[1] no junkyard hereafter established shall be licensed to operate within five hundred (500) feet of a church, school, hospital, public building or place of assembly.
[1]
Editor's Note: See Ch. 211, Zoning.
A. 
The Code Enforcement Officer or other officials designated by the Town Board shall be empowered to enforce this chapter and the regulations set forth herein.
B. 
Any person violating any of the provisions of this chapter shall be fined not less than ten dollars ($10.) nor more than two hundred fifty dollars ($250.) for each offense, and a separate offense shall be deemed committed on each day during or on which a violation occurs or continues.