[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the
Town of Warwick as Ch. 15 of 1973 Municipal Code. Amendments noted
where applicable.]
By declaring its intent in so doing to regulate,
control and license the activities or businesses known as "auto graveyards,"
junkyards, secondhand parts collection area, the processing of used
metals for resale and the dumping, storage and disposal of waste,
secondhand or used materials of whatever composition, the Town Board
hereby declares that such activities or businesses can constitute
a hazard to property and persons and a public nuisance. Such materials
may be highly flammable and sometimes explosive. Gasoline tanks on
old autos often contain in some quantity combustible gasoline; the
engine and other parts of such autos are frequently covered with grease
and oil, which is also flammable. The tires, plastic seats, tops and
other elements of such autos are also flammable. Batteries and other
elements of such autos can contain acids and other matter potentially
harmful to humans. These autos frequently contain sharp metal or glass
edges or points upon which a human could receive serious cuts and
abrasions. These autos can constitute attractive nuisances to children
and certain adults. The presence of such junkyards even in areas zoned
for business or industry is unsightly and tends to detract from the
value of surrounding land and property unless such areas are properly
maintained and operated.
As used in this chapter, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
Passenger auto, truck, tractor-truck, trailer, bus, motorcycle
or other vehicle, however propelled, as well as tractors, bulldozers,
machinery and equipment.
An individual, an association, a partnership, a corporation.
No person shall engage in or conduct on real
property within the Town of Warwick, either for himself or for and
on behalf of any other person directly or indirectly, as agent, employee
or otherwise, any activity or business for profit either at wholesale
or retail, which involves the collection, storage, burning, dumping,
disassembling, dismantling, salvaging, sorting or otherwise handling
or arranging for sale, resale, storage or disposal or otherwise of
bodies, engines or parts of autos or of any other secondhand or used
property of whatever material it is composed, or any waste material,
whether composed of wood, paper, cloth, cardboard, plastics, metals,
stone, cement or otherwise, without first obtaining a license therefor
as hereinafter provided, but no license shall be required by persons
buying, storing, repairing and selling secondhand autos as complete
units.
A.
Information required. Each applicant for a license
hereunder shall execute under oath an application therefor, to be
supplied to him by the Town Clerk, which shall contain the following
information:
(1)
That the applicant is over 18 years of age.
[Amended 6-23-1988 by L.L. No. 1-1988]
(2)
That he is a citizen of the United States.
(3)
Whether he has ever been convicted of a felony or
misdemeanor and such other facts or evidence as is deemed necessary
to establish that he is a person fit and capable of properly conducting
the activity or business for which the license is sought.
(4)
A description of the exact type of business he intends
to conduct and the nature of the materials he intends to handle.
(5)
The number of employees he intends to engage.
(6)
The name and address of the owner or owners of the
land and the nature of the right of occupancy of the applicant to
the use of such land.
B.
Map or plan. At the time of making the application,
the applicant shall submit to and file with the Town Clerk a map or
plan of the real property upon which he intends to conduct the activity
or business for which he is making application for a license hereunder,
with the area of such real property which it is proposed to use for
such purpose, the location of the fence required hereunder indicated
thereon as well as the location of any buildings on such land and
the location of any streets or highways abutting or passing through
such land and the location of any water, sewer or gas mains or laterals
available thereto, as well as the general drainage pattern of such
land.
C.
Agreement to comply with regulations. In the application
the applicant shall agree that if granted the license applied for,
he will conduct the activity or business pursuant to the regulations
hereinafter set forth, and that, upon his failure to do so, such license
may be revoked forthwith.
D.
Additional owners. If the person conducting such activity
or business is not the sole owner thereof, he shall state such fact
at the time he applies for his temporary license, and the Town Clerk,
at the time of issuing such temporary license, shall send the owners
or each of them a notice of the issuance of such temporary license
to such person, together with a copy of this chapter.
A.
Fee. The fee for the license will be based on the
Schedule of Fees as adopted by the Town Board, on file with the Town
Clerk.
[Amended 2-26-2013 by L.L. No. 1-2013]
B.
Display of license. Such license shall be placed and
at all times displayed in a conspicuous place at the licensee's place
of activity or business for which it is issued.
C.
Term. Such license shall be effective from the date
of its issuance until the 30th day of June of the year of such issuance,
after which a new application for license must be made yearly if the
licensee desires to continue such activity or business.
[Amended 2-26-2013 by L.L. No. 1-2013]
D.
Transfer prohibited. Such license is personal with
the licensee. It does not go with the title of the land nor may it
be sold, assigned, transferred or disposed of.
E.
Revocation. Such license may be revoked by the Town
Board after a public hearing thereon at which the licensee shall have
an opportunity to be heard. Upon revocation of a license the Town
Board may require the removal of autos, parts and materials left,
as above provided in the case of an applicant for a temporary license
who fails to qualify for a license.
A.
Licensee to be responsible. The licensee must personally
manage or be responsible for the management of the activity or business
for which the license is granted.
B.
Office and employees. The licensee must maintain an
office and a sufficient number of employees on the premises to assure
the proper and safe conduct of such activity or business, to minimize
the fire hazard therefrom and to prevent improper trespass thereon
by children and others.
C.
Fence. The licensee must erect and maintain a six-foot
wire fence of close mesh or one made of wood or of other material,
adequate to prohibit the entrance of children and others into the
area of the activity or business and to contain within such fence
the materials dealt in by the licensee, and if such area abuts a residential
area or public street or highway, such fence shall be 25 feet from
the boundary line thereof. All the materials dealt in by the licensee
shall be kept within such fence at all times.
D.
Fire lane. Inside and adjacent to and contiguous with
such fence a strip of land at least 10 feet in width shall be kept
free of all dry grass or other growth or other combustible material
so as to provide a fire lane or line around the whole area where the
activity or business of the licensee is being conducted.
E.
Burning prohibited. No materials shall be burned.
The autos, parts and materials dealt in by the licensee shall be piled
or arranged in neat rows so as to permit easy, clear passage through
the area.
F.
Fire protection. There shall be maintained at each
such place of activity or business for which a license is issued at
least one fire extinguisher of approved design and capacity for each
40,000 square feet of area. Each such fire extinguisher shall be hung
or mounted in a conspicuous place, clearly marked and available.
G.
Locking when not in use. When the area is not supervised
by the licensee or his employees, the fence shall be locked at a secure
gate in a secure manner.
H.
Sanitary facilities. Suitable sanitary facilities
shall be available, connected to approved public sewers or septic
tanks, for the use and convenience of the employees of the licensee
as well as the general public visiting the area.
I.
Use as dump prohibited. The area of the licensee's
activity or business shall not be used as a dump.
J.
Access to Town officials. Peace officers, the Town
Clerk or the Town Board or any of its representatives shall be granted
access to the area of the activity or business of the licensee at
all reasonable hours to inspect the same for compliance herewith.
A.
Violation deemed an offense. The owner or licensee
of any such place of business who commits or permits any acts in violation
of any of the provisions of this chapter shall be deemed to have committed
an offense and shall be liable for any such violation or the penalty
therefor. Each day such violation shall continue or be permitted to
exist shall constitute a separate violation.
B.
Penalty. For every violation of any provision of this
chapter, the person violating the same shall be subject to a fine
of not more than $250 or imprisonment not exceeding 15 days, or both
such fine and imprisonment.
[Amended 6-23-1988 by L.L. No. 1-1988]
C.
Forfeiture of license. Conviction for any above-mentioned
violation shall constitute and effect an immediate forfeiture of the
license.
D.
Injunction. In addition to the above-provided penalties
and punishment, 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.
