[HISTORY: Adopted by the City Council of the City of El Paso
1977 by Ord. No. 494 (Ch. 5.20 of
the 1979 Code). Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Peddling and soliciting — See Ch. 227.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
Includes scrap and old iron, steel, chain, brass, copper,
magnesium, aluminum, tin, lead or other base metals, scrap lumber,
old rope, old bags, rags, wastepaper, paper clippings, scraps of woolens,
clips, bagging, rubber and glass, empty bottles of different kinds
and sizes when the number of each kind or size is less than one gross,
any wrecked or dilapidated motor vehicles, engine or machinery received,
stored or held for more than 90 days, and all articles and things
discarded or no longer used as a manufactured article composed of
or consisting of any one or more of the materials or articles herein
mentioned.
Includes every person, firm, partnership or corporation that
engages in the business of buying, selling, bartering or exchanging,
or that collects, receives, stores or holds in possession for sale,
barter or exchange any of the things defined in and by this section
as "junk."
Includes the premises on which a junk dealer is engaged in
the business of buying, selling, bartering or exchanging, or collecting,
receiving, storing or holding in possession for sale, barter or exchange,
any of the things in and by this section defined as "junk."
The minimum physical requirements at all times for each junkyard
shall be as follows:
A.
The premises where the junkyard is located shall not have more than
two entrances and two exits, each of which shall not exceed 15 feet
in width at the perimeter of the premises.
B.
The premises where the junkyard is located shall be enclosed on its perimeter with a solid, nontransparent, vertical wall or fence of a minimum height of seven feet measured from ground level, except for the entrances and exits permitted by Subsection A of this section.
C.
The solid, nontransparent wall or fence, and the gates or doors,
if any, at the entrances and exits, shall not contain any sign, poster
or advertising matter of any kind whatsoever, except one sign of the
licensee not exceeding 10 square feet in size.
D.
The public streets and alleys adjacent to the junkyard shall not
have junk thereon.
It is unlawful for any person, firm, partnership or corporation
to keep, maintain, conduct or operate a junkyard within the corporate
limits of the City without first obtaining a license as provided in
this chapter. A separate license shall be secured for each junkyard
located on noncontiguous lots, blocks, tracts or parcels of land.
[Amended 2-6-2017 by Ord.
No. 994]
Before any license under the provisions of this chapter is issued, any person, firm, partnership or corporation desiring to operate a junkyard in this City shall first make a verified application in writing to the City Clerk, stating the full name of the applicant, his residence address, the trade name of the applicant, the legal description of the premises where the junkyard is to be located, the size and approximate location of each entrance and exit, whether or not the premises where the junkyard is to be located is enclosed on its perimeter with a fence or wall conforming to the requirements of § 195-2B above, and whether the premises conform to § 195-2D above. If the applicant is a firm or partnership, the names and residence addresses of all the partners, and in case of a corporation the names and residence addresses of the President and Secretary, shall be stated in the application.
[Amended 2-6-2017 by Ord.
No. 994]
The annual license fee for each junkyard shall be set forth
in the fee schedule, payable in advance with the filing of the application
for a license, and such fee shall not be subject to pro-rata reduction
for a portion of the year either because of application for or because
of revocation of a license; provided, however, that only one annual
license fee shall be payable for licenses which may be issued whenever
the applicant desires to keep, maintain, conduct or operate junkyards
on lots, blocks, tracts or parcels of land which are situated on directly
opposite sides of and abut upon each side of a public street or alley.
All licenses shall expire on the 30th day of April of each year.
Any applicant for a license to keep, maintain, conduct or operate
a junkyard shall be disqualified for any of the following reasons:
A.
Any and all licenses issued under the provisions of this chapter
shall state that the license is issued in the name of the junk dealer
solely for the purpose of keeping, maintaining, conducting and operating
a junkyard, the expiration date of the license, the legal description
of the premises where the junkyard is to be located, that such license
shall be used and the privileges thereof exercised only at the described
premises, and that such license is nonassignable and nontransferable.
B.
The license shall further provide that it is issued subject to all
the provisions of this chapter; that upon the first conviction for
a violation of any of the provisions of this chapter, in addition
to the fine, such junkyard shall remain closed for a period of 30
days; that upon the second conviction for a violation of any of the
provisions of this chapter the license shall become null and void,
and the licensee shall forfeit all sums paid for the license, and
that the licensee, by the acceptance of the license, expressly agrees
to all the terms and conditions thereof and to the terms and provisions
of this chapter, and all amendments thereof.
[Amended 2-6-2017 by Ord.
No. 994]
Any licensee shall at all times allow any police officer of
the City and the public health authorities free access to any and
all portions of the junkyard for the purpose of inspection.
The Mayor of the City may revoke the license of any licensee
for violating, failing or refusing to comply with any provisions of
this chapter.
