[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Meeting of the Town of Bethlehem 4-23-2003. Amendments
noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Solid waste — See Ch. 113.
This chapter is adopted pursuant to the provisions of Chapters 98 and 246 of the Connecticut General Statutes.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
Shall have the meaning ascribed to it in Section 14-67 of
the Connecticut General Statutes, as amended.
Scrap, waste and discarded materials, possessing usefulness,
if any, only through conversion or reduction into their components;
any article or collection thereof that is worn out, cast off, or discarded
and that is ready for destruction or has been collected or stored
for salvage or conversion.
Except for the specific exceptions noted below, the use of
any area of any lot, whether inside or outside a building, for any
of the following purposes:
The storage, keeping or abandonment of junk or any other scrap,
waste or discarded materials or equipment, including old or used metal,
glass, paper, and cordage, or secondhand material; or
The dismantling (other than for repair), demolition or abandonment
of automobiles, other vehicles, machinery, equipment or parts thereof
in connection with a use other than a motor vehicle recycler's
business or a motor vehicle recycler's yard.
The foregoing terms shall have the meanings ascribed to them
in Section 14-67g of the Connecticut General Statutes, as amended.
Bethlehem is a rural community with a strong agricultural heritage
and agrarian character. The Town's scenic beauty and village
charm have been preserved through responsible and sensitive development
that has allowed, and continues to allow, a wide range of reasonable
uses. Bethlehem's residents respect private property rights and
values, and they have traditionally limited the regulation of land
uses to those activities and uses that pose the most significant risks
to community and environmental health and safety and to those uses
required to be regulated by state law. The unregulated operation of
junkyards and junk dealers is found to pose such risks, particularly
with respect to groundwater and surface water quality, the creation
of blight, and the attraction of vectors. Therefore, it is in the
interest of the Town to prohibit, to the extent allowed by law, the
establishment of new junkyards or the expansion of existing junkyards.
A.
No operations
constituting a junkyard shall be established or expanded within the
Town of Bethlehem except within a fully enclosed building.
B.
Junkyard
operations may be permitted to be established or expanded within an
enclosed building only upon:
(1)
The
submission to the Board of Selectmen of an application, including
detailed interior plans for the storage of materials involved in the
business, and a fee of $10;
(2)
The
inspection of the premises by the Fire Marshal, Director of Health
and Building Official; and
(3)
Certification
in writing by those officials to the Board of Selectmen that the operations
will not violate applicable public building, health or fire codes
or otherwise pose any danger to public health or safety.
C.
The Board
of Selectmen may restrict or limit any such proposed operation in
any manner it deems necessary to protect public health, safety and
welfare and the Town's natural resources and environment.
The entire Town of Bethlehem is designated as a restricted district
in which the establishment, operation, or maintenance of a motor vehicle
recycler's business or motor vehicle recycler's yard is
strictly prohibited.
The Planning Commission is hereby authorized to adopt any rules
or regulations, not inconsistent with this chapter, relating to junkyards
and junk dealers to the extent permitted by state law.
