[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Supervisors
of the Township of Upper Uwchlan 1-17-2006 by Ord. No. 06-01.
Amendments noted where applicable.]
The purpose of this article is to prohibit,
regulate and license the establishment and maintenance of junkyards,
salvage yards and other places used and maintained for the collection,
storage and disposal of used or secondhand goods and materials in
order to promote and protect the health, safety and welfare of the
citizenry.
The Second Class Township Code[1] confers the authority on the Board of Supervisors to prohibit,
regulate, and license junkyards.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 65101
et seq.
A.Â
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
JUNK
JUNK DEALER
JUNKYARD
PERSON
POLICE DEPARTMENT
PREMISES
TOWNSHIP
As used in this article, the following terms shall
have the meanings indicated, unless otherwise expressly stated:
The elected officials of Upper Uwchlan Township, Chester
County, Pennsylvania.
Discarded material, including but not limited to scrap metal,
abandoned or junked motor vehicles, machinery, equipment, paper, glass,
containers or wood.
Any person who buys, sells, salvages or stores junk in Chester
County or owns, leases or operates a junkyard in the Township of Upper
Uwchlan
Any place where any junk, as herein defined, is stored, disposed
or accumulated. The term "junkyard" shall also include salvage yards.
Any natural person, partnership, firm, company, or corporation.
The officers and employees of the Police Department of Upper
Uwchlan Township.
Any parcel of land or body of water and any buildings or
structures situated thereon situated in the Township of Upper Uwchlan
as identified by a tax parcel number assigned by the Chester County
Assessment Office.
Upper Uwchlan Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania.
B.Â
In this article, words in the present tense shall
include the future, words used in the singular shall include the plural,
words used in the plural shall include the singular, the word "shall"
is mandatory, the word "may" is permissive, and the masculine shall
include the feminine.
No person shall operate a junkyard with the
Township of Upper Uwchlan without first obtaining a license from the
Township of Upper Uwchlan.
A.Â
Any person who desires to operate or maintain a junkyard
within the Township of Upper Uwchlan shall file an application with
the Township. Applications shall be filed on forms provided by the
Township and may be filed by either the owner or his authorized agent.
B.Â
The Township Supervisors may prescribe a fee for the
application for a junkyard license. The Township Supervisors may revise
such a fee from time to time through resolution. If a fee is prescribed,
it shall be submitted by the applicant to the Township in conjunction
with the application for a junkyard license.
C.Â
The Township Supervisors or the designated representative
thereof shall act within 60 days of receipt of an application for
a junkyard license. Applications that are incomplete or that are not
submitted with the required fee will be returned to the applicant.
The failure of the Township Supervisors or the designated representative
thereof to act within 60 days of receipt of an application, if the
application was complete and the required fee was submitted, will
result in deemed approval of the application as submitted unless the
applicant has submitted, in writing an extension to the sixty-day
review period.
D.Â
When the application is found to be in compliance with the provisions of this article, as well as the applicable ordinances, such as Chapter 200, Zoning, the Township Supervisors shall issue a license to the applicant.
E.Â
The Township Supervisors may prescribe a fee for the
junkyard license. The Township Supervisors may revise such a fee from
time to time through resolution. If a fee is prescribed, the applicant
shall submit it to the Township at the time of issuance of the license.
F.Â
The license shall state the following: the name of
the person to whom such license is issued; the location of the premises
on which such business is to be conducted or such junkyard is maintained;
the size of the permitted junkyard; and the date of issuance and the
date of expiration of the license. The license shall be conspicuously
posted upon the licensed premises.
A.Â
Licenses issued by virtue of this article are to be
renewed on or before December 31 of each year. An initial license
that, because of the license renewal date of December 31, is not issued
for an initial one-year term shall have its annual fee prorated based
upon the term of the initial license. After the initial license year,
all licenses shall commence on January 1 and expire on December 31.
B.Â
Persons operating or maintaining a junkyard who desire
to continue to operate or maintain a junkyard shall have their license
renewed before December 31 of each year. November 1 is the first day
that a renewal application shall be submitted for the upcoming year.
C.Â
The application for the renewal of a junkyard license
shall be submitted by the applicant to the Township on forms provided
by the Township along with the prescribed fee which may be changed,
from time to time, by the Township Supervisors through resolution.
Renewal applications are subject to complete reexamination of this
article and other applicable ordinances. The Township Supervisors
or the representative thereof shall act within 45 days of receipt
of any application for the renewal of a junkyard license. Renewal
applications that are incomplete or that are not submitted with the
required fee will be returned to the applicant.
D.Â
Fees may be prescribed by the Township Supervisors
for the junkyard renewal. The Township Supervisors through resolutions
may revise such a fee from time to time. If such a fee is prescribed,
the applicant to the Township shall submit it at the time of issuance
of the license.
No person licensed under this article shall,
by virtue of one license, operate more than one business or junkyard
within Upper Uwchlan Township. No person shall engage in business
as a junk dealer in any other place other than the place designated
upon his license or maintain a junkyard in any other place than the
place designated upon his license.
A.Â
No license issued by the Township of Upper Uwchlan shall be transferable by the licensee to any other person unless the Upper Uwchlan Township authorizes such a transfer. Any person desiring to transfer his license shall notify the Township in writing, and the notice shall be accompanied by an application for a license as described in § 94-6 of this article.
B.Â
A fee for the transfer of a license may be prescribed
by the Board of Supervisors. Such fee may be prescribed from time
to time through resolution by the Township Supervisors. If a fee is
prescribed, it shall be submitted by the transferee to the Township
at the time of issuance of the transferred license.
Persons licensed under this article shall maintain
permanent records of all junk received in or removed from the junkyard
premises. The records shall state who delivered or who received the
junk, the date and time thereof and a description of the junk. The
records shall be open to inspection at all reasonable times by the
Board of Supervisors or representative thereof or the Upper Uwchlan
Township Police Department.
Junkyards and businesses licensed under this
article shall not operate between the hours of 9:00 p.m. and 6:00
a.m. prevailing time, except to remove any wrecked vehicle from any
public highway or road.
Persons licensed under this article shall keep
and retain upon the licensed premises, for a period of 48 hours after
the purchase or receipt thereof, all junk received or purchased by
them. The junk shall not be disturbed, reduced or altered from the
original shape, form or condition until the aforesaid forty-eight-hour
period has expired.
A.Â
All junk shall be set back at least 50 feet from adjacent
properties and at least 80 feet from the right-of-way of any public
street or highway.
B.Â
The junk shall be arranged on the premises to prevent
the accumulation of stagnant water upon the premises.
C.Â
The junk shall be stored and arranged so as to permit
access by fire-fighting equipment. Junked motor vehicles shall be
spaced in rows with at least 20 feet between double rows; other junk
shall be stored in piles or rows no wider than 20 feet separated by
twenty-foot rows. The maximum length of any rows of junk shall be
100 feet with a twenty-foot space between the rows.
D.Â
The junk shall be stacked at a maximum height of six
feet from the ground.
E.Â
All gasoline, oil and other toxic fluids shall be
drained from junked motor vehicles within 48 hours of arrival on the
premises. All gasoline and oil stored on the premises and fluids disposed
of from the premises shall conform to all applicable Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania and United States of America regulations concerning
the storage and disposal of such fluids.
F.Â
No junk or parts thereof shall be burned on the premises.
G.Â
Garbage or organic waste shall not be received, stored
or disposed of at any junkyard. Materials which are classified as
municipal solid waste may only be received if mixed with salvageable
materials, and the municipal solid waste materials shall be disposed
of properly at a licensed solid waste landfill.
I.Â
The junkyard shall at all times be maintained so as
not to constitute a nuisance or a menace to the health or safety of
Township residents or be a place for the breeding of rodents or vermin.
Further, the junkyard shall not cause any offensive or noxious odors
or noise.
A.Â
All junkyard premises shall be completely enclosed
by fences. The fence shall be at least 40 feet from adjacent properties
and at least 70 feet from the right-of-way of any public street or
highway. The fence shall be at least six feet but no more than 10
feet in height, shall be constructed of wood or wire and shall have
maximum linear openings of three inches. Entrance gates shall be kept
securely locked except during business hours.
B.Â
Fencing shall be maintained in good and working condition
throughout the operation and maintenance of a junkyard.
C.Â
Junkyard premises which have open-wire fence enclosures
visible from an abutting public highway or road or from an abutting
residential or commercial property within 500 feet of the fences shall
provide the following landscaping: trees and shrubs which are native
to eastern Pennsylvania which can attain a height of at least six
feet within two years of planting shall be planted along the entire
perimeter of the fence with a maximum of 20 feet between trees and
10 feet between shrubs.
D.Â
All required open space between the fence and the
perimeter lot lines shall be continuously maintained in good order
and free from weeds or scrub growth.
A.Â
Any member of the Township Supervisors may, at reasonable
times, enter upon the junkyard premises and inspect the premises and
records for conformance with the conditions of the license and the
rules of this article.
B.Â
Any member of the Upper Uwchlan Police Department
may, at reasonable times and with the consent of the junkyard owner/operator,
enter upon the junkyard premises and inspect the premises and records
for conformance with the conditions of the license and the rules of
this article.
The Township of Upper Uwchlan may waive the requirements of §§ 94-13 and 94-14 of this article for any junkyard legally in existence at the time of the enactment of this article; however, all such junkyards shall be required to obtain the required license within six months of the passage of this article as prescribed by this article.
The rules and regulations of this article shall
be enforced by the Township Manager of Upper Uwchlan Township, who
may, at his option, direct the Police Department to enforce the article's
provisions.
A.Â
In addition to the penalties prescribed in § 94-19 of this article, the Township may revoke a license of a junkyard if it is not being operated or maintained in conformance with its license requirements.
B.Â
If such revocation of a license occurs, the Township
shall notify the owner of the junkyard of such revocation. The owner
or operator shall have 30 days from the date of receipt of the revocation
notice to inform the Township, in writing, that the owner or operator
desires a hearing before the Township on the matter of the revocation
of the permit.
(1)Â
The Township shall schedule a hearing within 45 days
of a receipt of notice of a desired hearing by the owner or operator
of a junkyard. The owner or operator shall receive, via United States
mail service, written notice of the date, time and location of the
hearing.
(2)Â
At the hearing, the Township shall allow the owner
or operator of a junkyard to present testimony or evidence to support
his case. After hearing all testimony and reviewing all evidence and
testimony, the Township shall make a final decision concerning the
revocation of the license within 45 days of the hearing date. The
decision of the Township shall be communicated to the owner or operator
within five days of the date of the decision.
A.Â
The Township may take any appropriate civil or criminal
action or action in equity to enforce the provision of this article,
as well as utilizing any other remedies otherwise provided by law.
B.Â
The remedies provided herein for the enforcement of
this article or any other remedy provided by law shall not be mutually
exclusive. Rather, any and all remedies may be applied simultaneously
or consecutively at the option of the Township.
The purpose of this article is to prohibit the
open storage of junk or junked vehicles on private or public land
within the Township of Upper Uwchlan and to establish regulations
and procedures for the abatement of the same.
A.Â
JUNK
JUNKED OR ABANDONED VEHICLE
LANDOWNER
LESSEE
MOTOR VEHICLE
NUISANCE
OPEN STORAGE
PERSON
POLICE DEPARTMENT
TOWNSHIP
TOWNSHIP SUPERVISORS
As used in this article, the following terms shall
have the meanings indicated, unless otherwise expressly stated:
Any old or discarded inorganic material, including but not
limited to parts or whole refrigerators, washing machines, furniture,
plumbing fixtures, carpet, windows, glass panes, miscellaneous metal
or aluminum scraps, pipes or roofing materials.
Any motor vehicle which is not located in its entirety within
a fully enclosed building that is not in full and complete working
order; without a current Commonwealth of Pennsylvania registration;
or kept for resale as junk metal or stored for selling parts therefrom.
The legal person who possesses real property who is identifiable
through records compiled by the Chester County Recorder of Deeds.
A person to whom a lease, whether it is written or oral,
is granted by a landowner.
Any vehicle which utilizes a motor as the means of producing
energy for propulsion and whose purpose is to transport people, goods,
or both.
The open storage of junk or junked or abandoned motor vehicles,
as defined in this article.
The storage of junk or junked or abandoned motor vehicles
on real property outside the confines of a fully enclosed building
for a period exceeding 14 days within one calendar year, whether the
days are consecutive or not.
Any natural person, partnership, firm, company, or corporation.
The Police Department, and its officers and employees, of
Upper Uwchlan Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania.
Upper Uwchlan Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania.
The elected officials of Upper Uwchlan Township, Chester
County, Pennsylvania.
B.Â
In this article, words used in the present tense shall
include the future, words used in the singular shall include the plural,
words used in the plural shall include the singular, the word "shall"
is mandatory and the word "may" is permissive, and the masculine shall
include the feminine.
A.Â
It shall be unlawful for any landowner to maintain
or permit the maintenance of the open storage of a junked or abandoned
motor vehicle upon the open private land of such person within the
Township of Upper Uwchlan.
B.Â
It shall be unlawful for any lessee to maintain or
permit the maintenance of the open storage of a junked or abandoned
motor vehicle upon the private land that such lessee has leased within
the Township of Upper Uwchlan.
A.Â
It shall be unlawful for any landowner to maintain
or permit the maintenance of the open storage of junk upon the open
private land of such person within the Township of Upper Uwchlan.
B.Â
It shall be unlawful for any lessee to maintain or
permit the maintenance of the open storage of junk upon the open private
land of such person within the Township of Upper Uwchlan.
A.Â
Any person who has obtained a license from Upper Uwchlan Township to maintain a junkyard as prescribed by Article I of this chapter shall not be bound by the rules and regulations of this article for the premises for which the junkyard license is issued.
B.Â
Any person who has been previously issued a license
to maintain or operate a junkyard and has not been reissued a current
junkyard renewal license or is not in compliance with the conditions
of the junkyard license, if there is junk or junked or abandoned motor
vehicles stored on the premises, shall be bound by the rules and regulations
of this article for the premises for which the junkyard license is
issued.
A.Â
The enforcement of the rules and regulations of this
article shall be carried out by the Police Department of Upper Uwchlan
Township.
B.Â
The officers of the Police Department are empowered
to enter upon and inspect private property on which motor vehicles
are being stored openly to determine if such vehicles are in compliance
with the provisions of this article. Furthermore, the officers of
the Police Department are empowered to enter upon and inspect private
property when they have reason to believe that junk is being openly
stored on such property to determine is such property is in compliance
with the provision of this article.
A.Â
If, after being brought to the attention of the Police Department, an officer of the Police Department observes that a person has maintained or permitted the maintenance of a nuisance as defined in § 94-22C or § 94-23C of this article, an officer of the Police Department shall issue a warning notice to the person or persons who have maintained or permitted the maintenance of such a nuisance.
B.Â
The warning notice shall state, at a minimum, the date of the violation, the location of the violation, the person who is being issued the violation notice, the nature of the violation, the sections which define the violation and the date when the abatement of the violation must be completed by (see § 94-28 of this article).
C.Â
The warning notice shall be delivered in at least
one of the following manners:
(1)Â
Hand-delivered to the person who has maintained or
permitted the violation to occur;
(2)Â
Mailed to the person who has maintained or permitted
the violation occur via United States mail service; or
(3)Â
By posting the warning notice conspicuously on the
offending property if the whereabouts of the responsible person is
unknown.
D.Â
After the conclusion of the abatement period as defined in § 94-27 of this article, an officer of the Police Department shall inspect the property for which the warning notice was issued. If the property is not in compliance with the provisions of this article, an officer of the Police Department shall proceed by issuing a citation with the Magisterial District Judge.
In the event that the offending property is not repaired, removed or abated within the prescribed length of abatement period as defined in § 94-27 of this article, Upper Uwchlan Township may cause the same to be done and collect the cost thereof from the responsible person, together with a penalty of 10% and any and all legal fees incurred, in the manner provided by law for the collection of municipal claims or, by action of assumpsit, seek relief by action in equity.
Any person who violates or permits a violation
of this article shall, upon conviction in a summary proceeding brought
before a Magisterial District Judge under the Pennsylvania Rules of
Criminal Procedure, be guilty of a summary offense and shall be punishable
by a fine of not more than $1,000, plus costs of prosecution. In default
of payment thereof, the defendant may be sentenced to imprisonment
for a term not exceeding 90 days. Each day or portion thereof that
such violation continues or is permitted to continue shall constitute
a separate offense, and each section of this article that is violated
shall also constitute a separate offense.
The remedies provided herein for the enforcement
of this article or any other remedy provided by law shall not be mutually
exclusive. Rather, any and all remedies may be applied simultaneously
or consecutively at the option of Upper Uwchlan Township's Board of
Supervisors.