[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Council of the Township of Monroe
8-5-1986 by Ord. No. O-26-86. Amendments noted where applicable.]
A.
No person or persons, firm or corporation shall engage
in the business of buying and/or selling used merchandise, antiques, equipment
or surplus and defective building materials and other used personal property
other than automobiles sold by a person with a state automobile dealer's license,
without being licensed so to do by the Town Council of the Township of Monroe.
However, this chapter shall not apply to persons who are displaying and selling
such used merchandise or surplus building materials totally within the confines
of a building or other structure. Any display or sale of such used merchandise
or building materials outside the confines of said structure shall be within
the purview of this chapter.
A.
Application for such license shall be made to the Township
Clerk, in writing, and shall set forth the name of the person or persons,
firm or corporation and their respective addresses or principal places of
business and shall describe the premises upon which said business is to be
conducted, giving the street frontage and approximate depth of said premises,
and said application shall be accompanied by a plot plan showing said premises
and the areas of proposed use. The application shall also be accompanied by
the license fee prescribed by this section, and the Township Clerk shall fix
a reasonable time for a hearing by the Town Council. The applicant shall thereupon,
at least 10 days prior to the time appointed for said hearing, give personal
notice thereof to all property owners within 200 feet of the property lines
of said proposed business. The applicant may obtain a list of said property
owners from the Tax Assessor and shall pay any fee which may be required by
the ordinances of the Township of Monroe for said list. Such notice shall
be given by mailing said notice, by certified mail, to the address as contained
in the township tax records. At time of said hearing, the applicant shall
submit an affidavit of proof of service of notice upon all such property owners.
B.
The Clerk shall report such application to the Chief
of Police and the Zoning Officer, who shall inspect or cause to be inspected
such premises to determine whether they comply with all laws, ordinances,
rules and regulations and shall issue a report to the Town Council prior to
the date set for hearing.
C.
The Council shall conduct a hearing upon the date set
and shall grant the license only if it is satisfied by a fair preponderance
of the evidence that granting the license would not unreasonably affect the
public health, safety and welfare of the residents of the Township of Monroe.
[Amended 10-3-1994 by Ord.
No. O-29-94]
The initial license fee to be paid for such license shall be the sum
of $600 and shall be effective from the date of issue until October 1. Thereafter,
the annual license fee to be paid for such license shall be the sum of $300
each and every year. All persons, firms or corporations shall, 60 days prior
to the expiration of any license granted hereunder, make application to the
Township Clerk for a license to conduct said business for the ensuing year
and shall pay for said license the same fee as hereinabove set forth; provided,
however, that the notice hereinabove required to be given to property owners
shall only apply to the first application at a designated location or for
any enlargement thereof.
All persons presently engaged in or who wish to engage in the business
or occupation of buying and selling used merchandise or surplus or defective
merchandise as defined in this chapter within the Township of Monroe shall
comply with the provisions of this chapter by making application for a used
merchandise license within 30 days of the final passage and publication hereof,
and, if granted, the holder of said license shall comply with the provisions
of this chapter within 90 days thereafter. After the issuance of licenses
to the persons that apply within the 30 days of final passage and publication,
no new license shall be issued unless or until the number of licenses outstanding
is fewer than five. In the event that the five licenses have not presently
been issued by the Town Council, such additional licenses, up to the number
of five, may be issued, at the discretion of the Town Council, upon application
duly made at any time by any qualified applicant.
[1]
Editor's Note: Former § 242-5, Board of Health to promulgate
rules and regulations, was repealed 8-12-1997 by Ord. No. O-41-97.
No license shall be granted unless the governing body shall, after the
hearing, find that no unreasonable depreciation of surrounding property would
ensue from the establishment or maintenance of the place of business and that
the best interests of the community require the operation of the business
at the location designated. The proximity of homes, schools, churches or other
places of gathering and the sufficiency in number of other similar places
in the vicinity and the suitability of the applicant to receive the license
shall be taken into consideration in considering the application.
A.
Unless the business is to be conducted in an enclosed
building, the lot or that part of the same upon which the business is located
shall be fenced in with a solid board fence or other similar material which
would prevent the merchandise from being visible by neighboring residents
or by the traveling public using either vehicles or walking along the usual
sidewalk area or walkway area abutting the property in question. Further,
said fence must be kept in good condition at all times and must meet with
the approval of the Zoning Officer or other official designated by the Construction
Code Officer.
B.
In the event that the licensed premises shall be an open
yard or lot, the fence required above shall be six feet high, and said fence
shall not be permitted to be erected nearer than 25 feet to any curbline or
edge of pavement of any street nor nearer than 10 feet to the property line
of any abutting property.
Licenses shall be transferable upon the payment of a fee of $300 therefor
and approval by the Town Council. Applications for any transfer shall be filed
with the Township Clerk and shall contain the name and residence of both the
transferor and the transferee, consent to transfer signed by the transferor
and such other information as required by this chapter in an original application.
The Clerk shall report such application to the Chief of Police and Zoning
Officer, who shall inspect or cause to be inspected the licensed premises
to determine whether they currently comply with the provisions of this chapter
and to make a recommendation to the Town Council regarding transfer. Following
receipt of this report, the Town Council shall act upon the application for
transfer.
All licensed premises shall be open to inspection by any representative
of the Town Council, police, fire officers and Board of Health during reasonable
hours and at reasonable times.
A.
Licenses may be revoked permanently or suspended for
any period of time for any violation of the provisions of this chapter. Any
conviction to the charge of receiving stolen property by the holder of a license
shall be sufficient cause for suspension or revocation.
B.
The holder of a license shall be given at least 10 days'
notice of any proposed revocation or suspension of license by reason of the
violation of the provisions of this chapter and the grounds therefor. He shall
be entitled to a public hearing, upon request, to be held not less than 15
days thereafter, unless agreed otherwise between the parties. The Town Council
shall preside over any such hearing, hear the evidence and be judge of the
facts. The licensee shall be entitled to be represented by counsel and present
evidence on his behalf.
[Amended 3-3-1997 by Ord.
No. O-14-97]
Any person or persons, firm or corporation violating any provision of
this chapter shall pay a fine, upon conviction thereof, not exceeding the
sum of $1,000 for each violation or be imprisoned for a period not exceeding
and/or community service not to exceed 30 days, in the discretion of the Municipal
Court Judge.
