[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of North Salem 6-8-1982.
Sections 137-8 and 137-10 amended at time of adoption of Code; see Ch. 1,
General Provisions, Art. I. Other amendments noted where applicable.]
This chapter shall be known as and may be cited as the "North Salem
Litter Control Ordinance."
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings
indicated:
The relinquishment of ownership of any item of personal property
and/or litter with intention of not reclaiming it or resuming its ownership
or enjoyment, and such intent shall be presumed at the expiration of 48 consecutive
hours from the time of abandonment.
Includes:
Garbage, which shall include refuse, trash, rubbish or any nauseous
or offensive matter.
Items known as "junk," regardless of kind or size, discarded or abandoned
by reason of obsolescence, age or state of repair or intended to be discarded,
abandoned or junked, including but not limited to discarded household furnishings
or appliances, crates, boxes, cartons, building materials, motor vehicles,
machines, farm equipment or parts of vehicles or machines or equipment.
Subject to the provisions of § 137-8 hereof, signs, handbills, discarded reading materials, newspapers, magazines or similar paper goods.
Cans, bottles, containers, boxes, cartons or wrappers with or without
contents.
"Litter" shall not include:
Equipment in actual use by the owner of property for farming, gardening
or construction or improvements on the property site.
Firewood reserved and stored upon premises for future use upon said
premises.
Contractor's supplies or materials stored on premises during periods
of construction for which a building permit has been issued and prior to issuance
of a certificate of occupancy.
Recreation equipment in actual use by the owner of the property and
his family or his tenants.
Includes an individual, partnership, corporation or other legal entity
or association, organization, or company.
Includes throwing from a vehicle of any type or an aircraft or boat.
The Town of North Salem, New York.
No person shall throw, deposit or abandon litter on any property within
the Town, whether public or private, regardless of the ownership of such property,
except in receptacles provided therefor, nor shall any property owner use
his land for the dumping of litter or permit the dumping or accumulation of
litter on his property by others, except that the owner or person in control
of private property shall maintain private receptacles for the collection
of litter in such a manner that litter will not be carried or deposited by
the elements upon the yards or premises of others or upon the streets, roads,
highways or public place or places of the Town.
Litter not contained in receptacles as aforesaid shall not be stored
or piled on land within the Town except to facilitate delivery to the vehicle
of a refuse collector, salvage dealer, licensed junk dealer or a person, firm
or charitable organization customarily engaged in the removal, purchase, collection
or salvage of discarded articles and, in such case, shall not be stored in
anticipation of such collection for a period in excess of 48 hours.
No person owning or operating a place of business shall sweep or deposit
litter from any building or lot in or into any street or public parking area;
and the frontage of such business properties along streets, public parking
areas or access drives leading to parking areas shall be kept free of litter.
No person shall throw, deposit or abandon any litter or foreign matter
of any kind whatsoever in any fountain, pool, pond, lake, stream, culvert,
reservoir or its tributaries, watershed or any body of water in a park or
elsewhere within the Town, except that this provision shall not prohibit the
treatment and control of private swimming pools or the authorized treatment
of pools or reservoirs to control or regulate water purity or aquatic vegetation
by persons or corporations having all required permits issued by state, County,
Town or watershed authorities having jurisdiction over such treatment.
Signs or posters advertising an event shall be removed by the persons or organizations responsible for the erection or affixing of such signs or posters within the time frame designated in Ch. 250, Zoning.
The prohibitions contained herein against the deposit of litter shall
include activities known as "dumping," the maintenance of dumps for any purpose,
including landfill operations, or the use of any property in the Town as a
dumping ground for the benefit of the owner thereof or any other person.
A.
Any person committing an offense against any provision
of this chapter shall, upon conviction thereof, be guilty of a violation pursuant
to the Penal Law of the State of New York, punishable by a fine not exceeding
$250 or by imprisonment for a term not exceeding 15 days, or by both such
fine and imprisonment. The continuation of an offense against the provisions
of this chapter shall constitute, for each day the offense is continued, a
separate and distinct offense hereunder.
B.
In addition to the above, 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 to restrain by injunction the violation of this
chapter.
C.
The Zoning Enforcement Officer shall notify any person
of an alleged violation of this chapter by such person by certified mail,
return receipt requested, and if the violation is not cured within seven days
of the mailing of such notice, each and every day after the seventh day shall
constitute a separate violation.
The provisions of § 137-3 of this chapter shall not apply to the owner of property used or maintained as a junkyard prior to the effective date of this chapter with regard to the storage on said property of old and dilapidated motor vehicles or other items customarily stored in junkyards, provided that such use is not illegal under any other governing statute or ordinance.
