§ 121-1. Title.
This chapter
shall be known as the "Village of New York Mills Junk Storage
Law."
§ 121-2. Purpose.
By adoption
of this chapter the Village of New York Mills declares its intent to regulate
and control the storage or keeping of junk, and to regulate junkyards whether
operated for commercial profit or otherwise. The Village Board hereby declares
that a clean, wholesome, and attractive environment is of vital importance to
the continued general welfare of its citizens, and that junk and junkyards can
constitute a hazard to property and persons and can be a public nuisance. Such
materials may be highly flammable and sometimes explosive. Junk and
particularly junked vehicles can constitute attractive nuisances to children
and certain adults. The presence of junk and junkyards is unsightly and tends
to detract from the value of surrounding properties unless properly screened
from view.
§ 121-3. Definitions.
For the
purpose of this chapter, the following words and phrases shall have the
meanings indicated:
ENFORCEMENT
OFFICER -- Any person appointed by the
Village Board to represent them in particular matters pertaining to this
chapter.
JUNK -- The outdoor storage or deposit of any of
the following shall constitute junk.
A. One
junk vehicle meeting the conditions of Subsection B of the definition of
"junk vehicles" for a period of 60 days or more.
B. One
or more junk mobile homes.
C. One
or more abandoned or inoperable appliances, including but not limited to
washers, dryers, dishwashers, stoves, refrigerators, freezers and
televisions.
D. One
or more abandoned or irreparably damaged pieces of indoor furniture, including
but not limited to sofas, lounge chairs, mattresses, bed frames, desks, tables,
chairs and chest of drawers.
E. One
or more motorized recreational vehicles and/or yard and garden maintenance
machines.
F. Any
combination of the above or parts of the above.
JUNK MOBILE
HOME -- A structure, transportable in
one or more sections, built on a permanent chassis and designed to be used as a
dwelling unit, which is currently not inhabited and is no longer habitable
under the Building Codes of New York. This section includes but is not limited
to mobile homes, travel trailers and campers.
JUNK STORAGE
AREA -- The areas of any parcel of land
or water used or intended to be used for the placement, storage or deposit of
junk.
JUNK
VEHICLES
A. An
unregistered, old, secondhand motor vehicle, no longer intended or in condition
for legal use on the public highways, or used parts or waste materials from
motor vehicles which, taken together, equal in bulk two or more such vehicles.
B. A
vehicle is considered junked when it meets two of the following conditions.
(1) It
is unlicensed or unregistered.
(2) It
is abandoned, wrecked, stored, discarded, dismantled, or partly
dismantled.
(3) It
is not in any condition for legal use upon the public highways.
(4) It
is in such condition as to cost more to repair to operating condition, than its
reasonable market value at the time before such repair.
JUNKYARD -- The outdoor storage or deposit of any of
the following:
A. Five
or more junk motor vehicles.
B. Two
or more junk mobile homes.
C. Five
or more junk appliances.
D. Five
or more pieces of junk furniture.
E. Any
combination of the above that totals five items.
MOTOR
VEHICLE -- All vehicles propelled or
drawn by power other than muscular power originally intended for use on public
highways.
PERSON -- Any individual, firm, partnership,
association, corporation, company, or organization of any kind.
§ 121-4. Junk
regulations.
No junk
shall be located within the Village of New York Mills except items with Village
of New York Mills heavy trash permits for last Wednesday of month pickup.
§ 121-5. Junkyard
regulations.
A. Location.
No junk storage area shall be located within:
(1) Twenty-five
feet of any adjoining property line;
(2) Two
hundred feet of any public park, church, educational facility, nursing home,
public building or other place of public gathering;
(3) Two
hundred feet of any stream, lake, pond, wetland or other body of water; or
(4) Twenty-five
feet from the right-of-way of any public highway.
B. Fencing.
There must be erected and maintained a ten-foot high fence enclosing the entire
junkyard located not less than 25 feet inside the property boundary and a
self-closing and self-locking gate, adequate to prohibit the entrance of
children and others into the area of the activity or business, and to contain
within such fence the material dealt with by the operator of the junkyard.
Fencing requirements may be waived where topography or other natural conditions
effectively prohibit the entrance of children and others. This is an exception
to Local Law No. 3 of 1997 (fencing).
C. Screening.
Where a junkyard is or would be visible from a public highway or from
neighboring properties the fence provided in Subsection B above shall be of
wood or other materials sufficient to totally screen the junkyard from view.
Such screening may be permitted by adequate planting or evergreen trees or
shrubbery. Junk shall be stored at ground level, and shall not be otherwise
stacked.
D. Burning.
No materials shall be burned in a junkyard except in compliance with the New
York State Solid Waste Disposal Law (see NYCRR Part 215).
E. Burying.
No junkyard items shall be buried in a junkyard except in compliance with the
New York State Solid Waste Disposal Law (see NYCRR Part 360).
F. Approved
junkyard items. No junkyard items shall be stored in any junk storage area
other than those items specified on a junkyard permit approved by the Village
Board pursuant to this chapter.
§ 121-6. Permit
required.
A. No
person shall establish or maintain a junkyard within the Village of New York
Mills unless a permit has first been issued for such junkyard pursuant to this
chapter.
B. No
person owning, having any right to, or any interest in any real property within
the Village of New York Mills shall license, rent, lease, or otherwise permit
the uses of such real property or any part thereof for a junkyard unless a
permit has first been issued for such junkyard pursuant to this chapter.
C. All
permits shall be issued for a period of one year, after which time a renewal
shall be required.
§ 121-7. Application
procedure.
A. Application.
The applicant for a junkyard permit shall obtain application forms from the
Village Clerk. The completed forms along with one copy of the proposed site
plan, and the appropriate fees, shall be returned to the Clerk. The Clerk shall
submit the application materials to the Village Board.
B. Site
plan contents. The site plan shall be drawn to scale or indicating all
dimensions and show:
(1) All
existing and proposed structures, including fences.
(2) All
property lines, including the names of owners of adjacent property.
(3) All
streams, lakes, wetlands, floodplains, and other water bodies.
(4) All
wells and sanitary facilities.
(5) All
roads and easements.
(6) All
existing and proposed junk storage areas.
(7) All
existing and proposed accessways, and parking and loading areas.
C. Environmental
impact statement. An environmental assessment form (EAF) shall be completed and
submitted with all applications pursuant to the provisions of the State Environmental
Quality Review Act, 6 NYCRR Part 617. If the EAF indicates that the proposed
activity may have significant environmental consequences, the Village Board
shall require that a draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) be submitted
with the application. The application shall not be considered complete until
the DEIS has been accepted by the Village Board.
D. Fees.
The Village Clerk shall receive an annual fee set from time to time by
resolution of the Village Board for each license or renewal license issued
pursuant to this chapter, provided that if the original license be issued on or
after April 1, the fee shall be 3/4 of the annual fee; and if issued on or
after July 1, the fee shall be 1/2 the annual fee; and if issued on or
after October 1, the fee shall be 1/4 of the annual fee.
E. Public
hearing. The Village Board shall fix a time within 45 days of the date a
complete application is received for a public hearing. Notice of the hearing
shall be made in the official newspaper at least five days prior to the date
thereof. At the hearing the Village Board shall hear the applicant and all
other persons wishing to be heard on the application for a junkyard
permit.
F. Village
Board action. Within 45 days of said hearing, the Village Board shall render a
decision to approve, approve subject to conditions, or disapprove the
application for a junkyard permit. The forty-five-day period may be extended by
mutual consent of the applicant and the Board. All findings of the Board shall
be entered into the official minutes of the Village. The decision of the Board
shall immediately be filed in the office of the Village Clerk and the applicant
shall be notified of the decision and the reasons for such decision by certified
mail within five days of the decision of the Board. Upon approval of the site
plan and application, and payment of the fees and reimbursable costs due the
Village, the Board shall endorse its approval upon a copy of the final site
plan and application.
G. Issuance
of permit.
(1) If
the Village Board approves the application, the Clerk shall issue a junkyard
permit.
(2) If
the application is approved with conditions by the Board, the Clerk shall issue
a junkyard permit upon notification by the Code Enforcement Officer that said
conditions have been complied with.
§ 121-8. General
considerations.
A. Aesthetic
considerations. In granting or denying a permit, the Village Board shall take
the following aesthetic factors into consideration:
(1) Type
of road servicing the junkyard or from which the junkyard can be seen.
(2) Natural
or artificial barriers protecting the junkyard from view.
(3) Proximity
of the site to established residential or recreational areas or main access
routes thereto.
B. Location
considerations. In granting or denying a permit, the Village Board shall take
the following location factors into consideration:
(1) The
nature and development of surrounding property, such as the proximity of public
parks, churches, educational facilities, nursing homes, public buildings, or
places of public gathering.
(2) Whether
or not the proposed location can be reasonably protected from affecting the
public health and safety by reason of offensive or unhealthy noise, odors or
smoke, or of other causes.
(3) The
proximity of streams, lakes, wetlands, floodplains, groundwater supplies, and
public water supplies.
(4) Local
drainage patterns.
(5) Long
range comprehensive plans for the Village.
(6) Proximity
of the site to established residential or recreational areas.
(7) Availability
of other suitable sites for the junkyard.
§ 121-9. Waivers.
Where the
Village Board finds that due to special circumstances of the particular case, a
waiver of certain requirements as stated in § 121-5 herein is justified,
then a waiver may be granted. No waiver shall be granted, however, unless the
Board finds, and records in its minutes that:
A. Granting
the waiver would be keeping with the intent and spirit of this chapter, and is
in the best interests of the community.
B. There
are special circumstances involved in the particular case.
C. Denying
the waiver would result in undue hardship to the applicant, provided that such
hardship has not been self-imposed.
D. The
waiver is the minimum necessary to accomplish the purpose.
§ 121-10. Code
Enforcement Officer.
A. The
Code Enforcement Officer shall upon request of the Board make inspections of
the premises of any junkyard for which application for a permit has been made,
or any other existing junkyard within the Village, and shall report to the
Board on the conditions of such junkyard.
B. The
Code Enforcement Officer shall make periodic inspections of the Village to
ensure that all existing junkyards have permits and that the requirements of
the chapter are met. Any observed violations shall be reported to the
Board.
C. The
Code Enforcement Officer shall not enter the premises of any private property
without the consent of the owner. It shall be the responsibility of the
applicant to arrange for all required inspections of the premises prior to
permit issuance or renewal.
§ 121-11. Revocation of
permit.
The Village
Board may revoke a junkyard permit upon reasonable cause should the applicant
fail to comply with any provision of the chapter. Before a permit may be
revoked, the Board shall hold a public hearing. Notice of the hearing shall be
made in the official newspaper at least five days prior to the date thereof.
The permit holder shall be notified of the hearing by certified mail at least
five days prior to the hearing. At the hearing the Board shall hear the permit
holder and all other persons wishing to be heard on the revocation of the
junkyard permit. Should the Board decide to revoke a permit, the reasons for
such revocation shall be stated in the Board minutes. The permit holder shall
be immediately notified of the revocation by certified mail postmarked within
72 hours of decision.
§ 121-12. Penalties for
offenses.
A. Any
person who shall violate any of the provisions of this chapter shall be guilty
of an offense and subject to a fine of not more than $250 or by a penalty of
$250 to be recovered by the Village in a civil action. Every such person shall
be deemed guilty of a separate offense for each week such violation,
disobedience, omission, neglect or refusal shall continue.
B. In
addition to the above provided penalties, the Board may also maintain an action
or proceeding in the name of the Village in a court of competent jurisdiction
to compel compliance with or restrain by injunction the violation of any
section of this chapter.
