Chapter 8.08
JUNK YARDS

Sections:

8.08.010    Definitions.

8.08.020    License required.

8.08.030    Licensing requirements.

8.08.040    Fencing.

8.08.050    Appeal.

8.08.060    General operating requirements.

8.08.070    Enforcement officer.

8.08.080    Violations—Penalties.

8.08.010 Definitions.

For the purposes of this chapter the following terms shall apply:

A.    “Junk” means discarded, dismantled or wrecked automobiles, discarded, dismantled or wrecked vehicles or machinery, used machinery, used appliances and furniture, scrap metals, rubber, paper, plastic, or other scrap materials.

B.    “Junk yard” means the use of more than five hundred square feet of the area of any lot or parcel of ground for the dismantling or wrecking of automobiles or other vehicles or machinery or for the storage or keeping of the parts of equipment resulting from such dismantling or wrecking, or for the storage or keeping of junk.

C.    “City” means the city of North Pole.

D.    “Council” means the council of North Pole.

E.    “Person” means any person, firm, partnership or corporation. (Ord. 72-10 §

8.08.020 License required.

It is unlawful for any person to own, lease, establish, occupy, operate or maintain a junk yard within the city limits without a license. (Ord. 72-10 §2, 1972)

8.08.030 Licensing requirements.

A.    Licenses may be issued by the city council for a fee of five dollars, and shall expire on midnight of the anniversary date of their issue. The license shall provide for reasonable rights of enforcement by enforcement officers. A junk yard license shall be valid for the landlord if his tenant operates the junk yard with a valid license.

B.    The council may require a site plan of the premises drawn to scale which includes the legal description of the premises, the prominent topographical features of the site as well as adjacent land within five hundred feet of the site and the location and/or intended location of all buildings or structures on the site.

C.    In determining the propriety of issuing a license, the council shall consider the following standards and criteria:

1.    The character and uses of the surrounding property;

2.    The extent to which the value of the surrounding property will be depressed by the junk yard;

3.    The proximity of residential dwellings, schools, hospitals, public buildings, recreation areas or other places of public gatherings;

4.    The adequacy of surrounding fences and other types of enclosures to prevent the unsightly display of junk as well as the ingress and egress of pedestrians;

5.    The degree to which infestation of rodents, insects or vermin has occurred or to which collections of rubbish or litter have accumulated.

D.    The council shall ensure a license only if the existing premises and equipment conform to the requirements of this chapter, except that junk yards existing and operating at the time of the adoption after the ordinance codified in this chapter shall be exempt from the standards and criteria set forth in subdivisions 1 through 3 of subsection C, provided that such pre-existing junk yards may not be enlarged without satisfying all standards and criteria of this chapter, and this exemption shall not apply to any pre-existing junk yard whose operations have ceased for a continuous period of twelve months.

E.    Notwithstanding subsection D of this section, the council may issue a temporary license pending compliance with the provisions and standards set forth in this chapter. Such license is not renewable and shall not be valid for a period in excess of ninety days. If compliance is achieved, the council shall issue an annual license. (Ord. 72-10 §3.1972)

8.08.040 Fencing.

It is unlawful for any person to own, establish, maintain or operate a junk yard unless such junk yard shall be within a building or obscured from view of any traveled or occupied location within five hundred feet from any boundary of the junk yard, by a fence no less than eight feet in height. The fence may be of natural planting to include, but not limited to, evergreen planting of sufficient density to provide a year-round screen and to prevent ready access to the junk yard by pedestrians. (Ord. 72-10 §4, 1972)

8.08.050 Appeal.

A.    Denial of a license may be appealed to the council as follows:

B.    If the council denies an application for the license referred to in Section 8.08.030, the applicant may appeal the decision to the council. The appeal shall be taken by filing with the city clerk written notice stating:

1.    The name and address of the applicant;

2.    That the applicant appeals from the decision of the council denying the application for a license to own, establish, operate or maintain a junk yard;

3.    A concise statement of the grounds for the appeal. The applicant may request a statement in writing from the council containing their reasons for denying the permit. Upon receipt of the request, the council shall furnish to the applicant within seven business days a written statement of reasons for denying the permit.

C.    The notice of appeal must be filed with the city clerk within thirty days after the council’s action denying the application.

D.    After receipt of a notice of appeal, the city clerk shall place the appeal on the calendar of the second regular city council meeting. The city clerk shall give the applicant five days’ written notice of the time and place of the hearing of the appeal.

E.    The applicant shall have the right to be represented by an attorney, to e heard by the city council and to present witnesses in his behalf, but the hearing shall be limited to one hour.

F.    The city council must deny or approve the applicant’s request within thirty days after the appeal hearing is closed. (Ord. 72-10 §5, 1972)

8.08.060 General operating requirements.

A.    It is unlawful for any person to own, operate or maintain a junk yard unless the general operating requirements of this subsection are complied with.

1.    The license issued pursuant to this chapter shall be plainly displayed on the premises.

2.    The junk yard, together with things kept therein, shall be at all times maintained in a sanitary condition.

3.    Space not covered by the license shall not be used in the operation of junk yard.

4.    No garbage or other waste liable to give off foul odor or attract vermin, shall be kept on the premises; nor shall any refuse of any kind be kept on the premises, unless such refuse is junk as defined in this chapter.

5.    Junk shall not be allowed to rest upon or protrude onto a public street, walkway or cub or become scattered or blown off the premises.

6.    Junk shall be stored in piles not exceeding ten feet in height and shall be arranged so as to permit easy access to all such junk for fire-fighting purposes.

7.    Gasoline shall be removed from any scrapped engines or vehicles on the premises.

8.    Entrances and exits shall not be wider nor more numerous than reasonably necessary for the efficient operation of the junk yard.

B.    Persons, firms, partnerships or corporations and their successors currently operating junk yards shall have one year from the date of the enactment of the ordinance codified in this chapter to comply with the operating requirements; provided, that they are not operating in violation of any ordinances at the time of the adoption of this chapter.

C.    The council shall notify all persons suspected of violating subsection B of this section in a manner calculated to afford actual notice of the acts, conduct or omissions which have resulted in violation of this chapter and shall provide a fifteen-day period of grace in which said violations may be voluntarily corrected without resort to further enforcement proceedings. Notice of each deficiency need only be given once, and additional notice and grace periods need not be given for repeated and continuous violations. (Ord. 72-10 §6, 1972)

8.08.070 Enforcement officer.

The council may appoint officers to enforce the provisions of this chapter. (Ord. 72.10 §8, 1972)

8.08.080 Violations—Penalties.

One or more remedies of this section may be used against violators of this chapter:

A.    Violation of the provisions of this chapter shall constitute a misdemeanor. Upon first conviction for a violation of this chapter, A person shall be fined not more than two hundred fifty dollars. A person convicted for the second and succeeding violations, may be punished by a fine of not more than five hundred dollars or imprisonment for not more than thirty days or both. Each thirty days a violation continues shall be considered a separate offense.

B.    Any person affected may institute an action or proceeding to prevent, restrain, correct and/or abate the unlawful uses, conduct, business or acts prohibited by the regulations of this chapter.

C.    Violations of this chapter on properties within the city limits, and which violations continue in excess of sixty days after notice to the owner or occupant of the property, may be abated by the council. The council’s designee may enter the premises and eliminate, remove and dispose of garbage and solid waste found thereon. The designee shall report the cost to the council. The council, by resolution, shall determine the amount to be charged for removal and disposal. The owners and occupants of the premises shall be jointly and severally liable to the city for the amount determined by the council. (Ord. 72-10 §9, 1972)