Township of West Pike Run, PA Junkyards and Salvage Yards

General terms. As used in these regulations, words in the singular include the plural and those in the plural include the singular. The masculine shall include the feminine and the neuter. The words "shall" and "will" for the purpose of these regulations are defined as mandatory.

Specific terms. As used in these regulations, additional specific terms or words shall be defined as follows. Unless otherwise expressly stated, the following definitions shall, for the purpose of these regulations, have the meaning herein indicated. Any pertinent word or term not a part of this listing but vital to the interpretation of these regulations shall be construed to have its legal definition.

BOARD

The Board of Supervisors of West Pike Run Township.

GARBAGE

Any offal, vegetable refuse, lunchroom or office waste and other material, including solid, liquid, semisolid or contained gaseous material, resulting from operation of residential, municipal, commercial or institutional establishments and from community activities.

ITINERANT PEDDLER

Any individual, group, organization, partnership, association, firm or corporation, not residing in, or having a fixed place of business within, the Township, that conducts, whether temporarily, ongoing, regularly, irregularly or in any other manner, the storing, buying, selling or dealing in any "junk" as defined in this chapter.

JUNK/SALVAGE

Any discarded material or article and shall include, but not be limited to, scrap metal, abandoned or junked motor vehicles or vehicle parts, machinery or machinery parts, papers, glass and related items, containers, or partially dismantled structures or parts thereof. It shall also include a partially dismantled motor vehicle not bearing current registration plates and that is not in the process of ongoing and immediate repair. It shall not include recyclable articles, refuse and garbage kept in proper containers and properly disposed of in a timely manner, farm machinery used in connection with a bona fide farming operation or hazardous or toxic waste material.

JUNK/SALVAGE DEALER

Any person who shall engage in the business of selling, buying, salvaging or dealing in junk including the operation of an auto wrecking or salvage yard or business, or any person who shall keep or store on any premises, for a period of more than 90 consecutive days, more than two motor vehicles or bodies of motor vehicles, that are disabled, or from which the wheels or engine have been removed, or that are not in operating condition, or that do not have a current motor vehicle license, or that do not have a valid Pennsylvania State Inspection Sticker attached, or that have been stripped or dismantled.

JUNKYARD/SALVAGE YARD

The use of more than 200 square feet of the area of any lot, whether inside or outside a building, or the use of any portion of any lot that joins the street for storage, keeping or abandonment of junk, including scrap metals, or for the dismantling, demolition or abandonment of automobiles or other vehicles, machines or machinery.

LICENSE

The permit granted to a person who accumulates, stores or disposes of junk as herein defined.

MACHINE

Any contrivance that serves to regulate the effect of a given force or to produce or change motion; any organized system.

MACHINERY

Machines in general, including the component parts thereof.

PERSON

Includes any partnership, association, firm, corporation and individual.

TOWNSHIP

West Pike Run Township, Washington County, Pennsylvania.

§ 177-3 License.

Requirement.

(1)

No person shall, from and after the effective date of this chapter, keep, conduct or maintain any building, structure, yard or place of keeping, whether temporarily, irregularly, or continually, for the storing, piling, buying or selling at retail or wholesale or dealing in any "junk/salvage" as herein defined, whether with a fixed place of business or as an itinerant peddler, without first having obtained and paid for a "junk/salvage dealer" license.

(2)

In addition, no person shall, from and after the effective date of this chapter, keep, store or accumulate on his premises or the premises of another, for a period in excess of 90 days, motor vehicles, or bodies of motor vehicles, that are inoperable, or unlicensed, or that do not have a current and valid inspection sticker, or that have been stripped or dismantled without having first obtained and paid for a "junk/salvage dealer" license. This regulation shall not apply to operable vehicles classified as farm tractors, racing vehicles, antique and classic motor vehicles, and other operative vehicles not subject to state inspection requirements.

Application. Every applicant for a license to engage in the business of junk dealer shall file with the Township Secretary, upon a form prepared and approved by the Township, signed by the applicant or applicants. The license shall be issued by the Board after written application shall have been made therefor by the person to whom such license is to be given. Such license shall be posted conspicuously upon the premises licensed. The applicant shall also submit therewith a plot of the premises used or to be used in connection with such licenses.

Issuance. Upon receipt of an application by the Board, the Board shall issue a license or shall refuse to issue a license to the person applying therefor after an examination of the application and taking into consideration the suitability of the property proposed to be used for the purposes of the license, the character of the properties located nearby, and the effect of the proposed use upon the Township, both economic and aesthetic. In the event the Board shall issue a license, it may impose upon the license and the person applying therefor such terms and conditions, in addition to the regulation herein contained and adopted pursuant to this chapter, as may be deemed necessary to carry out the spirit and intent of this chapter. Licenses shall be issued upon the condition that the same may be summarily revoked in the event the said licensee is found to have given any false information or in any way misrepresented any material fact upon which the issuing authority has relied in granting such license, in which event the licensee shall not be entitled to a refund of any portion of a required license fee.

Guarantees.

(1)

The operator of a salvage/junkyard for which a permit is required by this chapter, shall file with the Township of West Pike Run, a bond for the land affected by such facility and based upon the total estimated cost of completing final closure and guaranteeing such measures as are necessary to prevent adverse effect upon the environment; such measures shall include, but are not limited to, satisfactory monitoring, post-closure care and remedial measures.

(2)

The bond shall be executed by the applicant dealer of the facility. In the event the said premises are not owned by the applicant, the bond shall be executed by the owner or owners of said premises as well as by the applicant dealer.

Fee. A license fee in accordance with a schedule set forth by the Board shall be paid to the Township for the use of the Township at the time the license is issued.

(1)

The license shall be issued for the twelve-month period beginning January 1 and ending December 31 of the following year, and each license must be renewed annually on or before the first of June of each year.

(2)

The license fee shall be paid immediately upon the issuance or renewal of a license. The amount of the license fee shall be $200. No license shall be issued for the use of a tract of land less than five acres or in excess of 20 acres, excluding setback areas.

Limitation. No person licensed under this chapter shall, by virtue of one license, keep more than one place of business within the Township or maintain more than one junkyard, for the purpose of buying, selling and dealing in junk. No person shall engage in business as a junk dealer in any place other than the place designated upon his license, or maintain a junkyard in any place other than the place designated upon his license.

Transfer. No license issued by the Board shall be transferable by the licensee to any other person unless such a transfer is authorized by the Board. Any person desiring to transfer his license shall notify the Board in writing, which notification shall be accompanied by an application for a license, as described in § 177-3B of this chapter, by the transferee.

(1)

In the event the Board shall approve the transfer of a license, the transferee shall immediately pay to the Township a transfer fee of $20.

(2)

In the event the Board shall approve the transfer of a license, the transferee shall provide all guarantees required by § 177-3D of this chapter.

§ 177-4 Records.

Requirement. Every licensee hereunder shall provide and shall at all times keep and maintain records, in the English language, at the time of his 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, the date and approximate hour of such purchase, acquisition or receipt, and the name and address of the person from whom such article or item of junk was purchased, acquired or received. Such written records shall at all times be subject to the inspection of the Township Police for just cause. Such records shall be retained for a period of three years.

Identification. No person shall knowingly buy, sell, receive, dispose of, conceal or have in his possession any motor vehicle, part or accessory from which the manufacturer's serial number or any other number or identification mark has been removed, defaced, covered, altered or destroyed for the purpose of concealing or misrepresenting the identity of such vehicle, part or accessory. If any salvage yard owner fails to notify the West Pike Run Township Police Department of any violation in this section under the pretense that the salvage yard owner had already notified another agency (state police or other government agency), they will be held in violation.

Retention. Every person licensed under this chapter shall keep and retain upon the licensed premises, for a period of 24 hours after the purchase or receipt thereof, all junk received or purchased by him, and he shall not disturb or reduce the same or alter the original form, shape or condition until such period of 24 hours shall have elapsed.

§ 177-5 Site requirements.

Every person licensed under this chapter shall develop and operate the licensed premises in accordance with the following requirements:

Area. No tract of land less than five acres, or more than 20 acres, excluding all required setback areas, shall be licensed or utilized as a junkyard. Minimum front lot width shall be 150 feet at the property line.

Property setbacks. The premises to be licensed shall be set back a minimum distance of 100 feet from the right-of-way on all streets or roads and a minimum distance of 50 feet from all other property lines. Areas between the setback line and the right-of-way, and between property and setback lines shall be kept clear of all storage and operations at all times.

Environmental setbacks. All storage and operations shall be set back a minimum distance of 50 feet from all known floodplain elevations, wetland areas, streams, creeks and other natural waterways.

Highway setbacks. Setbacks of 660 feet shall be maintained from the right-of-way line of all Federal-Aid or other limited access highways.

Parking. All parking in association with the junkyard and any related operations shall be accommodated on site, exclusive of any required setback areas.

Access. Site access points shall be designed to accommodate emergency fire and rescue vehicles. Separate or common entrance and exit points shall be permitted; however, no such entrance or exit shall exceed 30 feet in width. Site access shall be designed to preclude the stacking or maneuvering of vehicles on adjacent public right-of-ways.

Safety. 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 regulations of the Department of Labor and Industry of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania concerning the prevention of fire and panic.

Fencing.

(1)

All junkyards shall be protected and buffered from roads and developed adjacent areas with a fence or wall of eight feet or more in height, maintained in good condition. The placement of such fence or wall shall be controlled by the setback provision of Subsections B, C and D, above.

(2)

The foregoing provisions shall be applicable only to those portions of the premises being used for operations or the storage of junk and shall not be applicable to the balance of the property owned or used by said junkyard operator so long as said remaining portion of land is not being used for the storage of junk as defined in this chapter.

(3)

The fence shall be a metal chain-link fence of at least 12 gauge thickness and supported on steel posts. Such fence shall not be less than eight feet in height, nor shall two or more vehicles or major parts thereof be stacked on top of one another or otherwise so as to protrude above it.

Screening.

(1)

Where any side of the premises adjoins a residential dwelling, church, school or public building now existing or constructed in the future, and said structure is within 50 feet of said side, a landscape screen shall be established along the adjoining side for a reasonable distance. It is further provided that the foregoing screening provision shall be applicable only to that portion of the adjacent premises being used for the storage or junk or related operations and shall not be applicable to the balance of the property owned or used by said junkyard operator so long as said remaining portion of land is not being used for the storage of junk as defined in this chapter.

(2)

The screen shall have a height adequate to achieve its purpose. Plant materials used for screening shall consist of dense evergreen plants. They shall be of a kind, or used in such a manner, so as to provide a continuous opaque screen within 24 months after commencement of operations in the area to be screened. The Board shall require that either new planting or alternative screening be provided if, after 24 months, the plant materials do not provide an opaque screen.

Landscaping. Setback areas adjacent to public right-of-ways and occupied adjoining property shall be planted with an all season ground cover and shall be landscaped with trees and shrubs in accordance with an overall landscape plan. A replacement program for nonsurviving plants shall be included.

§ 177-6 Operational regulations.

Every person licensed under this chapter shall constantly maintain the licensed premises in accordance with any special provisions imposed by the Board and in the manner prescribed by this section and any subsequent regulations adopted by the Board.

Maintenance. Such premises 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 and vermin.

Garbage. No garbage, organic waste or toxic or hazardous material shall be stored on such premises.

Motor vehicle handling. All gasoline, fuel oil, crankcase and gear lubricants, coolants and related products contained in vehicles received on the premises shall be handled and stored in a safe manner in accordance with applicable local, state (DER) and federal regulations. No such materials shall be permitted to drain onto ground or water surfaces in a manner that would constitute environmental degradation or related hazard.

Storage.

(1)

The manner of storage and arrangement of junk and the drainage facilities of the premises shall be such as to prevent the pollution of springs and streams, to prevent the accumulation of stagnant water upon the premises, and to facilitate access for inspection purposes and firefighting. All junk and vehicles on the licensed premises shall be arranged and maintained in a neat and orderly fashion. All such vehicles and other junk are to be arranged in rows with a minimum of 15 feet of clear space between each row and each of said rows to be no greater in width than 40 feet.

(2)

Up to three vehicles or major parts thereof, if crushed, may be stacked on one another if said stacking is on a level surface and accomplished in a manner that precludes slipping, tipping or similar unsafe conditions. A maximum of two uncrushed vehicles may be stacked.

Burning. No burning of vehicles, oil, grease, tires, gasoline or other similar materials shall be burned within a junkyard at any time.

§ 177-7 Violations and penalties.

Any person who shall violate any of the provisions of this chapter shall, upon conviction thereof by a summary proceeding, be sentenced to pay a fine of up to $300 and the cost of prosecution, and, in default thereof, to be sentenced to a term of imprisonment in the Washington County Jail for up to 90 days, provided that each day's violation of any of the provisions of this chapter shall constitute a separate offense.

§ 177-8 Variances.

The Board shall have authority to grant variances to dealers properly licensed under this chapter, from the provisions as set forth herein, as the circumstances, and in the Board's sole judgment may require, in order to avoid undue hardship or an unrealistic application of the provisions of this chapter. The decision of the Board in granting or refusing to grant a variance shall be exclusive and final. No variance shall be granted that is not in harmony with this chapter and all other ordinances of the Township.

§ 177-9 Inspection.

The Township Police or a representative duly authorized by resolution of the West Pike Run Township Board of Supervisors shall, from time to time, regularly inspect the premises of every licensee hereunder for the purpose of determining whether said licensee has established and maintained his premises in full compliance with the provisions of this chapter and such rules and regulations that may hereafter be adopted by the Township of West Pike Run regulating and licensing junk dealers and the establishment and maintenance of junkyards.

§ 177-10 Abatement of nuisances.

In addition to the remedies provided in § 177-7, above, any continued violations of this chapter that shall constitute a nuisance in fact or that shall in the opinion of the Board constitute a nuisance may be abated by proceeding against the violator in a court of equality for relief.

§ 177-11 Severability.

If any section of this chapter shall be found to be invalid, the other sections of this chapter shall not be affected thereby.

§ 177-12 Enforcement.

The West Pike Run Township Police Department shall have the authority to, and is therefore authorized to, enforce this chapter by initiating summary criminal proceeds for violations of any of the provisions of this chapter. The enforcement authority of the West Pike Run Township Police Department given shall in no way be construed to limit the authority of the West Pike Run Township Supervisors to initiate any suits in law or equity or otherwise to secure compliance with the provisions of this chapter.