No person or entity, corporate or otherwise, as owner or as
one in control of premises located in the Town of Hopedale shall keep
in the open in any area of the Town of Hopedale any junk or junk automobile
as defined in the following sections, without being licensed to do
so under this bylaw.
As used in this bylaw, the following terms shall have the meanings
indicated:
JUNK
Any used, discarded or salvaged materials which are worn
out, cast off or abandoned.
JUNK VEHICLE
One which is not registered, worn out, cast off, discarded, is ready for dismantling or destruction, has been collected or stored for salvage or for stripping in order to make use of the parts thereof, is not in running condition or has not been restored to running condition within the time limitation established under any permit granted hereunder in the following §
264-3. Any parts from a junk vehicle shall be considered junk under the terms of this bylaw.
JUNKYARD
Any place in the Town of Hopedale in which junk and junk
vehicles, as defined herein, are kept in the open.
[Amended 5-22-2021 ATM by Art. 1]
A. A license to keep not more than two unregistered vehicles shall be requested in writing from the Chief of Police for the purpose of repairing or restoring said vehicles to running condition or for the purpose of using an unregistered vehicle in running condition on private property and where no registration is required. The Chief may issue said license under the terms and standards set forth in §
264-3B below and in addition may set forth in the license a reasonable time limit, not to exceed six months if the application is for the purpose of repairing or restoring a vehicle or one year for any other purpose.
(1) Any refusal of the Chief to issue a license may be appealed to the Select Board by filing an appeal with the Town Clerk within 20 days of the refusal and the Select Board shall follow the notice and procedure requirements set forth in §
264-3B regarding the procedure for hearings.
B. A license to keep more than two junk automobiles may be requested
by filing with the Town Clerk an application in writing to the Select
Board. The Select Board shall hold a hearing on the application within
30 days of the application, and it shall give at least five days'
notice of the date, time and place of the hearing in a newspaper distributed
in Hopedale at least five days before the date of the hearing. The
cost of publishing shall be paid by the applicant.
[Amended 5-22-2021 ATM by Art. 1]
The Select Board may grant a one-year license or a license which
is the subject of an appeal from a refusal of the Chief of Police
to issue the same, upon such terms and conditions as the Select Board
deems proper, after the public hearing and the Select Board determines
that the keeping of the vehicle will not depreciate property values
in the areas, be a hazard to the public or an attractive nuisance
causing danger or injury to children or will not affect the public
health, safety, order, comfort, convenience, appearance or general
welfare of the community. Renewals of any licenses upon expiration
shall only be granted following the same procedure as an original
application to the Select Board.
The provisions of this bylaw shall not apply to junk or junk
vehicles, used as a part of the manufacturing process in an area zoned
for such use, nor shall the license provisions for unregistered motor
vehicles used on farms for agricultural purposes, used in connection
with manufacturing, industrial or sand and gravel operations in areas
zoned for such uses, golf cars, jitneys and the like, nor to vehicles
held for repair or sales by holders of Class I and II licenses within
the limits of their permits.
[Amended 4-11-1995 ATM, Art. 26; 4-9-2002 STM, Art. 3]
Any person who violates any provision of this bylaw shall be subject to a fine of $300 for each violation. Whoever violates any provision of this bylaw may, in the discretion of the enforcing officer, be penalized by a noncriminal complaint pursuant to the provisions of MGL c. 40, § 21D, and the Town's Noncriminal Disposition Bylaw (Chapter
1, General Provisions, Article
II, Penalties; Noncriminal Disposition). For the purpose of this provision, the penalty to apply in the event of a violation shall be $300. The Health Agent shall be an enforcement officer for this bylaw. Each day that a violation continues shall be considered a separate offense.