[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Committee
of the Township of Kingwood 8-4-2009 by Ord. No. 15-06-2009.[1] Amendments noted where applicable.]
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance also repealed former Ch. 86,
Junkyards, adopted 10-16-1954, as amended.
It shall be unlawful for any person, firm, association, partnership, or corporation to maintain, operate, or conduct a junkyard in the Township, without first having obtained a license for such purpose, as hereinafter provided. No provision of this chapter shall be construed to permit a junkyard to be established or maintained in any place or manner prohibited by the Zoning Ordinance regulations of the Township. Nothing in this chapter shall be interpreted to repeal or affect any activity or activities otherwise permitted pursuant to Chapter 74, the "Right to Farm" Ordinance of the Township of Kingwood.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
Any waste or discarded material or debris, including, by
way of illustration and not of limitation, nonfunctional farm machinery
or parts thereof, nonfunctional mechanical equipment or parts thereof,
nonfunctional appliances or parts thereof, old iron or other metal
or scrap, any unregistered motor vehicles that would be required to
be registered in order to be operated on public streets and highways
and any other material or substance commonly known or referred to
as "junk" in the ordinary meaning of the word.
Any person, firm, association, partnership or corporation
within the Township who buys or otherwise acquires junk for the purpose
of sale to the public or who collects and stores junk.
Any place or area of land, with or without buildings, and
regardless of the size thereof, on which occurs the storage, keeping,
collection, accumulation or abandonment of junk or debris, whether
or not such junk or debris is stored, kept, collected, accumulated
or abandoned in connection with the personal use, dismantling, processing,
salvage, sale, resale or any other use or disposition thereof, including,
by way of illustration and not of limitation, the storage out of doors
of:
Two or more inoperable or unregistered vehicles or nonfunctional
pieces of farm machinery (unless in conjunction with an approved site
plan for a repair facility);
Vehicle, farm machinery or mechanical equipment parts;
Nonfunctional mechanical equipment;
Appliances;
Furniture;
The maintenance of excessive or overflowing litter, or of open
or overflowing waste disposal containers;
The storage of putrescible or nonputrescible waste materials
for longer than two weeks (except for residential garden composts
or in conjunction with construction activities pursuant to a valid
construction permit); or
The collection, storage or processing of recyclable materials
(except for residential storage of household recyclables or the operation
of a recycling facility duly licensed by the New Jersey Department
of Environmental Protection, or otherwise permitted to operate pursuant
to the provisions of N.J.A.C. 7:26A-1.1 et seq., Recycling Rules of
the New Jersey Administrative Code).
No junk shall at any time be permitted upon any of the streets
or sidewalks of the Township.
Any person, firm, association, partnership, or corporation,
desiring to obtain a license as herein required, shall file with the
Township Clerk a written application signed by the applicant or applicants,
which application shall include the following information:
A.
The name and residence of the applicant, and, if a firm, association,
partnership, or corporation, the name and address of the officers
and the registered agent or partners.
B.
The detailed nature of the business to be conducted, and the classes
of junk material which it is proposed to store or deal with therein,
the premises at which it is proposed to conduct the junkyard, including
a full description of such premises, and whether the applicant owns
the premises or leases it. If the applicant does not own the premises,
a copy of the lease shall be furnished, and the written consent of
the owners of the premises to the application shall be furnished.
C.
An accurate plot plan of the premises to be licensed, showing the
location of all structures, fences, drives and passageways, and junk
storage areas (showing the types of junk to be stored in each area).
D.
An environmental assessment and impact report containing an inventory
of at least the following on-site environmental conditions and an
assessment of the probable impact of the operation of the junkyard
upon them: surface and subsurface hydrogeology; wetlands; soils; topography;
presence of rare, threatened or endangered species; noise characteristics
and levels; any air pollution; any particular past or present use
that might have involved toxic or hazardous materials.
E.
A listing of all approvals, licenses and permits required from any
body or agency of the federal, state, or county government required
for the operation of the junkyard, as well as a description of the
status of such (including a description of any denials of such) and
a copy of all such issued and in force.
F.
A description of any enforcement proceedings undertaken within the
last 10 years by any governmental body or agency with regard to the
junkyard proposed to be licensed or against the applicant with regard
to a junkyard or similar establishment at any other location. Such
information shall include a statement as to whether such proceedings
are in progress or have concluded and whether the applicant, or the
junkyard for which the license is sought, are in compliance with all
orders or judgments involved in such proceedings.
G.
The names and addresses of the party or parties responsible for cleaning
up, or rectifying, any environmental hazard created in the operation
of the junkyard proposed to be licensed.
H.
The license fee required by this chapter.
I.
A certification from the Tax Collector of this Township that all
real property taxes assessed to the property proposed to be licensed,
owing and due as of the date the application is presented, have been
paid.
Each application shall contain the agreement that the applicant
(and owner of the licensed premises, if not the applicant) accepts
the license to be granted upon condition that it may be suspended
or revoked for cause, at any time, by the Township Committee. Any
license issued pursuant to this chapter may be revoked or suspended
for cause by the Township Committee, following written notice provided
to the license holder and a hearing before the Township Committee.
Said notice shall be provided at least 10 days prior to the hearing
date. The noncompliance of any condition shall be deemed cause for
revocation or suspension of a license.
A.
Prior to the issuance of any junkyard license, and after the filing
of a completed application as described by this chapter, a physical
inspection of the premises proposed to be licensed shall be made by
authorized agents of the Township, who may include a Health Officer,
police official, fire inspection official, Township Engineer, member
of the Board of Health or Township Committee.
B.
The Township Committee shall issue all licenses under this chapter
and they shall be good and valid from the date of issue until the
31st day of December, next, after granting the same.
C.
The license shall authorize the licensee to conduct the said junkyard
at the place specified in the license, and shall not be transferable
to another location, nor assignable or transferable in any manner.
D.
The license shall not be deemed to permit any activity or operation
which is licensed, regulated, restricted or prohibited by federal,
state or county law (including, but not limited to, any law regarding
solid waste management or toxic or hazardous materials).
E.
No junkyard license shall issue, nor shall any junkyard be maintained,
in any manner or at any place which is in violation of the zoning
regulations of this Township.
The applicant for the junkyard license shall pay to the Township
with the application for the license an annual fee of $1,500 for each
license issued, prorated monthly where the application is made after
January of the year in question.
Every person, firm, partnership or corporation to whom such
license shall be issued shall, while engaging in such business in
the Township, be in possession of such license and is hereby to have
such license on exhibition at all times.
All junkyards shall comply with the following conditions, which
shall be conditions of the issuance of the license:
A.
The property upon which the junkyard is conducted shall be enclosed
by a sound board fence eight feet high from the ground, the posts
shall not be more than 10 feet apart, with three nailing ties of two
inches by four inches minimum. The junkyard and its enclosing fence
shall be at least 50 feet from the road and at least 50 feet from
any boundary of the property which is not along a road. Such enclosure
shall be painted and maintained in good condition at all times, and
shall be kept painted at all times. There shall be no advertisement
of any description on said fence, except the junkyard operator's name
and description of the character of the business. All signs for the
junkyard shall be in conformance with the Township's Sign Ordinance.
B.
All junk and other articles (including, but not limited to, any abandoned
or unlicensed vehicles or parts thereof) must be stored and kept within
the enclosed fence above described, and not on or along the road or
otherwise outside the fence. No junk or other articles shall be piled
as to protrude above the height of said fence.
C.
No junk or other goods, vehicles or articles shall be stacked, piled
or placed upon the licensed premises in such a manner as to create
a fire hazard, or to create a place for the harboring or breeding
of rats, mice, or vermin.
D.
No junk or other goods, vehicles, or articles shall be burned upon
the licensed premises; provided, however, that this shall not prohibit
the use of acetylene torches in reconditioning or salvaging any such
junk, or other goods, vehicles or articles.
E.
All operations and activities of any junkyard shall be in compliance
with all federal, state and county laws, and the terms of any enforcement
order or judgment pertaining to the junkyard.
F.
Any member of the Township Committee, Board of Health, the Health
Officer, the Police, or any authorized agent of the Township shall
have the right at any and all reasonable times to inspect any or all
parts of the licensed premises.
G.
All vehicles to be kept in a junkyard shall be drained of all fluids
prior to or immediately upon being brought to the junkyard.
