Township of Whitemarsh, PA Junkyards and Junk Dealers

Any discarded material, including but not limited to scrap metal; scrapped, abandoned or junked motor vehicles, including the commercial storage of wrecked automobiles; machinery; equipment; paper; glass; containers; and structures. Not included, however, are refuse or garbage kept in proper containers for the purpose of prompt disposal.

JUNK DEALER

Any person engaging in the business of selling, buying, salvaging and dealing in junk, including a person who commercially stores wrecked automobiles pending disposition of same and a person who maintains and operates a junkyard within the Township.

JUNKYARD

Any place where any junk, as hereinafter defined, is stored, disposed of or accumulated.

LICENSE

The permit granted to a person or to a junk dealer hereunder.

PERSON

Any individual, partnership, association or corporation.

TOWNSHIP

Whitemarsh Township.

§ 66-2 License and fee requirements.

[Amended 3-18-1982 by Ord. No. 425]

No person shall engage in business as a junk dealer or maintain a junkyard unless such use conforms in all respects to zoning, subdivision and building code requirements of the Whitemarsh Township Code and without first having obtained a license from the Township. Such license shall state the name of the person to whom the license is issued and the premises on which such business is to be conducted or such junkyard is to be maintained and shall be posted conspicuously upon the premises licensed thereunder. Each applicant shall submit a plot plan of the junkyard to be licensed. A license fee as provided in Chapter A121, Fees, and adopted by resolution of the Board of Supervisors, shall be paid upon the issuance or renewal of a license, and each license shall be valid for one year from the date of its issuance.

No license issued by the Township shall be transferable by the licensee to any person unless such a transfer is approved by the Township and a transfer fee as provided in Chapter A121, Fees, is paid.

§ 66-3 Records.

Every person licensed under this chapter shall keep books describing all materials purchased or received by him, the date and hour of purchase or receipt and the person from whom such article or material was purchased or received. Such book shall, at all times, be subject to the inspection of any official of the Township or any Pennsylvania State Police Officer. In the case of motor vehicles, there shall be kept, in addition, a complete description of the motor, body, manufacturers' numbers and any other serial numbers, model and color.

§ 66-4 Disposal delay.

Every person licensed under this chapter shall retain upon his junkyard, for a period of 48 hours after the purchase or receipt thereof, all junk received or purchased by him, and he shall not alter the original form, shape or condition until 48 hours shall have elapsed.

§ 66-5 Regulations.

No person shall be licensed under this chapter nor any property used as a junkyard unless the property to be licensed complies with the following regulations:

Each junkyard shall at all times be maintained so as not to constitute a nuisance or a menace to the health of the community or of residents nearby or a place for the breeding of rodents, vermin or insects.

No garbage or other organic waste shall be stored in any junkyard.

There shall be erected a fence or wall not less than six feet in height and to encompass the entire junkyard for the purpose of preventing thefts. The fence or wall shall be constructed of materials of sufficient strength in order to carry out the purpose of this regulation and so constructed as to screen all junk in the junkyard from view from the exterior. Such fence or wall shall be maintained in good condition at all times.

In order to allow fire and emergency equipment to maneuver to prevent the spread of fires, there shall be a twenty-foot space between rows of junk within each junkyard.

There shall be a twenty-foot setback of junk from any streams or watercourses.

The area upon which junk is stored shall be a minimum distance of 100 feet from the right-of-way lines on all streets or roads and a minimum distance of 100 feet from all other property lines. The area between the setback line and the right-of-way line and all other property lines shall at all times be kept clear and vacant.

Junkyards shall be permitted only where direct access can be obtained from a major arterial road design intended to handle heavy industrial traffic, excluding any minor or residential streets. Such access shall be directly to and from such major artery and shall not be permitted through an existing residential area.

Junkyards shall be permitted only where the contents placed within the entire tract shall not be visible to surrounding residential properties either by screening and buffering or by existing natural features.

Vehicles shall not be stacked on top of one another. All other junk shall be situated and stored in a manner and to a height which does not exceed the height limit of the fence which surrounds the junkyard.

§ 66-6 Prohibited uses.

No property or building may be used for any trade, industry or business that is noxious or offensive by reason of dust, smoke, gas, vibration, illumination or noise.

No property which is not licensed as a junkyard shall be used for storage, deposit or disposal of junk, garbage or vehicles which are not intact, nor any noxious, offensive or otherwise objectionable material, except in closed buildings or containers for the temporary storage thereof, pending removal in the immediate future.

§ 66-7 Repair of unlicensed or uninspected vehicles.

Anyone wishing to repair an unlicensed or uninspected vehicle owned by that individual and on such person's property, either owned or leased by such person, is permitted, subject to the following conditions:

A permit is obtained from the Township (fee[1] to be determined from time to time by Township resolution).

[1]

Editor's Note: See Ch. A121, Fees.

The Township will issue a permit for up to two vehicles at one time undergoing repairs on such person's property.

A permit will be valid for a period not to exceed six months.

Such property must be maintained in a neat and orderly appearance during repair of the vehicles and shall be subject to inspection by Township representatives at all times.

§ 66-8 Inspection.

The Fire Marshal and Building Inspector shall regularly inspect the premises of every junkyard to determine if the licensee is in full compliance with the regulations as set forth above. The licensee shall fully cooperate with such officials in permitting inspections.

§ 66-9 Violations and penalties.

[Amended 3-18-1982 by Ord. No. 425; 12-8-1988 by Ord. No. 565]

Any person or persons, corporation, partnership or other entity whatsoever violating any of the provisions of this chapter shall, upon conviction, be sentenced to pay a fine not to exceed the maximum fine of $1,000, plus costs of prosecution, and, in default of payment of such fine and costs of prosecution, imprisonment for a term not exceeding 30 days; provided, however, that if the District Justice determines that the defendant is without the financial means to pay the fines and costs immediately or in a single remittance, such defendant shall be permitted to pay the fines or costs in installments and over such periods of time as the District Justice deems to be just.

§ 66-10 Abatement of nuisances.

Any continued violations of this chapter shall constitute a nuisance, and the Township may seek relief by proceeding against the violator in a court of equity for relief.

§ 66-11 Exemptions.

Conditions and restrictions of § 66-7 shall not be applicable to repair of unlicensed or uninspected vehicles or vehicles which are not intact, which are made by any person within a garage on such person's property. Said repairs within such garage are specifically permitted without a permit.