[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Supervisors
of the Township of East Manchester 7-11-1995 by Ord. No. 7-11-95B (Ch. 64 of the 1988 Code). Amendments noted where applicable.]
This chapter shall be known and may be cited
as the "East Manchester Township Junk Dealer and Junkyard Ordinance."
A.
JUNK
JUNK DEALER
JUNKYARD
PERSON
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall
have the meanings indicated:
Discarded materials, articles or things possessing value
in part, gross or aggregate, and including but not limited to scrapped
motor vehicles and parts thereof, including motors, bodies of motor
vehicles and vehicles which are inoperable and do not have a current
and valid inspection sticker as required by the Motor Vehicle Code
of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,[1] but not including garbage or other organic waste or farm
machinery, whether operational or otherwise, provided said farm machinery
is used in connection with a bona fide farming operation.
Any person, partnership, association or corporation engaged
in the business of selling, buying or dealing in junk, including but
not limited to buying, selling and dealing in junked or scrapped motor
vehicles or parts removed from scrapped motor vehicles or otherwise
engaged in the operation of an automobile graveyard as provided by
the laws of Pennsylvania.
Any place or establishment where junk is stored or accumulated
on the outside of any enclosed building, edifice or structure or where
the business of selling, buying or dealing in junk is carried on or
where two or more motor vehicles are stored which are unlicensed,
inoperable and do not have a current and valid inspection sticker
as required by the Motor Vehicle Code of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.[2]
Any natural person, association, partnership, firm or corporation.
B.
In this chapter, the singular shall include the plural,
and the masculine shall include the feminine and the neuter.
On and after the effective date of this chapter,
no person shall engage or continue to engage in business as a junk
dealer, or establish or operate a junkyard in the Township except
as authorized by this chapter and without first having obtained a
license therefor from the Board of Supervisors of the Township.
A.
Application for such license shall be made, in writing,
under oath and in the form prescribed by the Board of Supervisors
of the Township and shall contain the name of the applicant, his address,
his length of residence at such address, any record of previous convictions
involving the illegal or improper operation of junkyards or maintenance
of junk, if any, the address of the premises upon which such business
is to be conducted or upon which such junkyard is to be established
or operated, the name of the owner or owners of said property if other
than the applicant and upon subsequent applications a statement that
the applicant during the preceding term of his license complied with
and maintained his premises in full compliance with the provisions
of this chapter. Each initial application shall describe the premises
upon which the junkyard is to be operated by supplying an accurate
drawing specifying the following information:
(1)
Total acreage of lot and lot dimension.
(3)
Distance between rows of cars and dimensions of said
rows.
(4)
All existing buildings, their dimensions and setbacks
on the lot.
(5)
Buildings and the use on adjacent lots and distance
from these buildings to the areas devoted to the storage of junk.
(6)
The book and page in which the deed for the property
is filed.
B.
If the applicant is a partnership or association,
the application shall furnish the above information for every member
thereof. If the applicant is a business corporation, the application
shall furnish the above information for each officer and director
thereof. The application shall be signed by the applicant, if an individual,
by all members if the applicant is a partnership or association or
by the President and Secretary if the applicant is a business corporation.
A separate application shall be required for each junkyard operated
by a junk dealer. Any time there is a change in any of the information
required in this section, then the applicant shall be required, within
30 days of such change, to provide all of the relevant information
set forth in this section as it relates to any such change.
Each applicant shall pay an annual license fee in such amount as shall be set from time to time by resolution of the Board of Supervisors of the Township, payable at the time of application. In the event that the license submitted is denied, the fee shall be refunded. All licenses shall be issued for a term of one year, beginning January 1 and ending December 31 of each year. No abatement of the annual license fee shall be made for any cause whatsoever. For all junkyards in operation on January 1 of each year, said license shall be obtained prior to January 1. For any junkyard which begins operation after January 1, then application as require in § 122-4 of this chapter shall be made within 15 days of beginning operation of said junkyard. Such license shall be issued upon the condition that the same may be summarily revoked in the event the licensee is found to have given any false information or has in any way misrepresented any material fact upon which the issuing authority has relied in granting such license. In the event of revocation of a license, the licensee shall not be entitled to a refund of any portion of the license fee.
Upon receipt of an application for license under this chapter, the Township shall determine whether or not a license shall be issued or a renewal thereof shall be granted after an examination of the application and upon the fullest consideration of the suitability of the premises proposed to be used for the purposes of the license, the character of the property adjacent thereto and the effect of the proposed use, taking into consideration the health, welfare and safety of the residents of the Township, any potential hazard which may result to adjacent properties and structures thereon or to the citizens of East Manchester Township and the application of Chapter 255, Zoning, of the Code of the Township of East Manchester. Upon approval of the application for license, the Township shall issue to the applicant a license, upon which shall be designated the name of the licensee and the address of the premises approved for use as a junkyard. Such license shall at all times be conspicuously posted upon the licensed premises. No such license issued by the Township shall be transferable or assignable by agreement, will, intestacy or otherwise.
The Board of Supervisors of the Township hereby
designate the Township Manager and the Zoning Officer, each of whom
shall be the issuing agents for licenses and the Enforcement Officers
for violations of this chapter. In the event that an applicant disagrees
with or disputes a determination of the designated Enforcement Officer,
then the applicant shall have the right to have the application reviewed
by the Board of Supervisors of the Township. Such request must be
made, in writing, by the applicant within 30 days of the objectionable
action of the Enforcement Officer, and the Board of Supervisors shall
hear the appeal and decide the matter within 45 days of the applicant's
appeal. In the case of an initial application, the applicant shall
not be permitted to begin operation pending said appeal. In the case
of a license renewal application, the appeal by the applicant shall
stay enforcement proceedings until such time as the Board of Supervisors
has rendered its decision on the appeal as provided in this section.
No license or renewal of license shall be issued
to any person who, within one-year immediately preceding the date
of his application shall have been convicted for any felony or any
misdemeanor involving crimin falsi.
Every licensee shall keep and maintain and,
at the request of the Township Enforcement Officer, provide to the
Township records, in the English language, including the date of purchase,
acquisition or receipt of junk, a full and complete description, including
trade names, serial or manufacturer's numbers, if any, of every article
or item of junk purchased, acquired or received by him/her and the
name and address of the person from whom such article or item of junk
was purchased, acquired or received. In addition to making said records
available to the Township Enforcement Officer upon request, such records
shall at all times be subject to inspection by the Police Department
having jurisdiction within the Township, for just cause. Such records
shall be retained for a period of five years.
Every licensee shall constantly and continually
maintain the licensed premises as follows:
A.
Such premises shall at all times be maintained so
as not to constitute a nuisance or a menace to the health, safety
and welfare of the community or to residents nearby or a place for
the breeding of rodents and vermin.
B.
No garbage or other organic waste shall be stored
or disposed of on the premises.
C.
The manner of storage and arrangement of junk and
the drainage facilities of the premises shall be such as to prevent
the accumulation of stagnant water upon the licensed property and
to facilitate access for inspection purposes and fire fighting.
D.
No junk shall be stored or accumulated nor shall any
structure be erected within 25 feet of the side and rear lines of
the licensed premises, nor within 75 feet of any existing dwelling
house erected upon premises adjacent to the licensed premises. No
junk shall be stored or accumulated or any structure erected that
is used in connection with said junkyard within 40 feet of the property
line abutting a public street or highway within the Township. In the
case of a property which abuts a public street or highway on two sides
of the property, the above forty-foot setback shall apply to one street
only. The remaining setbacks shall apply otherwise. This section shall
not apply to existing structures on existing junkyards, nor shall
it apply to existing structures on new junkyards, so long as those
structures were constructed prior to the effective date of this chapter.
E.
No junk, scrap, automobile parts, motors or any other
item of junk as defined in this chapter shall be stored, maintained,
situated, placed or otherwise located within 50 feet of any river,
stream, run, creek, irrigation ditch or any other natural watercourse.
F.
The perimeter of the junkyard shall be enclosed or suitably screened, either with opaque fencing consistent with Chapter 255, Zoning, but in no event to exceed eight feet, or other suitable planted screening which shall create an opaque barrier between said junkyard and adjoining properties or public streets or highways. The erection of said screening shall be completed within 12 months after the date of the issuance of the initial junkyard license. The Board of Supervisors of the Township may, in its sole discretion, grant an extension of time for the completion of said screening, upon receipt of a letter from the said junkyard owner or operator requesting such an extension of time, and so long as the Board of Supervisors is satisfied that the owner and/or operator has clearly demonstrated that he/she is making a continuing bona fide effort to comply with the provisions of this subsection.
H.
Every structure erected upon or remodeled for use
in connection with the licensed premises shall be constructed or remodeled
with nonflammable material so as to be fire-resistant as that term
is defined by the regulation of the Department of Labor and Industry
of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania concerning the prevention of fire
and panic.
J.
The Board of Supervisors shall have the authority,
upon written request of a licensee or applicant, to waive any of the
subsections of this section as the circumstances, in the sole judgment
and discretion of the Board of Supervisors, may require in order to
avoid an undue hardship or unrealistic application of the provisions
of this section. The decision of the Board of Supervisors in granting
or refusing to grant a waiver shall be exclusive and final.
All junk dealers and junkyards operating and
existing in the Township on the effective date of this chapter shall
be required to comply with the provisions of and obtain a license
under this chapter within six months from the effective date. The
Township may, in its sole discretion, grant one additional six-month
extension for good cause shown.
The Enforcement Officer shall from time to time
inspect the premises of every licensee for the purpose of determining
whether said licensee has established and maintained the premises
in full compliance with the provisions of this chapter and such rules
and regulations as may hereafter be adopted by the Board of Supervisors
of the Township regulating and licensing junk dealers in the establishment
and maintenance of junkyards. Such inspections shall be conducted
during reasonable hours of the day and, if conducted during the regular
business hours of the licensee or applicant, may be done without prior
notice to the licensee. If said inspections are to be conducted other
than during the scheduled business hours of licensee or applicant,
such inspections may be conducted upon 24 hours' notice, which may
be either oral or written.
No junkyard as defined in this chapter shall
be granted a license unless off-street parking is provided within
the property owner's boundary lines or on property immediately abutting
said property.
This chapter is intended to set forth the requirements
only of East Manchester Township and shall not be in any way be construed
to be or constitute a waiver of any other licensing or registration
requirements of any other governmental or regulatory agency, whether
local, county, state or federal.
Any person who violates any provisions of this
chapter shall commit a criminal offense, and shall, upon being found
guilty by a Magisterial District Judge, after hearing, pay a fine
not to exceed $1,000, together with all court costs as permitted by
law. In default of payment thereof, the defendant may be sentenced
to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 90 days. Each day of violation
shall constitute a separate offense, which shall be subjection to
prosecution as such. For purposes of this section, the Board of Supervisors
of East Manchester Township hereby appoints the Township Manager,
Secretary, Zoning Officer, Permit Officer or Codes Enforcement Officer
as authorized representatives, any one of whom, in addition to any
police officer with jurisdiction within the Township, may commence
and pursue enforcement proceedings pursuant to this section.
