§ 4-19. Junkyards and junk dealers licensing and regulations.

(a) Definitions: Except where otherwise indicated by context, the following definitions shall apply in the interpretation and enforcement of this Section:

(1) "Person" shall mean any person, firm, partnership, association, corporation, company, or organization of any kind.

(2) "Junk" shall mean old iron, steel, brass, copper, tin, lead, or other base metals; old rubber; old bottles or other glass; bones; wastepaper and other waste or discarded material which might be prepared to be used again in some form; and any or all of the foregoing; and motor vehicles, no longer used as such, to be used for scrap metal or stripping of parts; but "junk" shall not include materials or objects accumulated by a person as by-products, waste, or scraps from the operation of his own business or materials or objects held and used by a manufacturer as an integral part of his own manufacturing processes.

(3) "Junkyard" shall mean a yard, lot, or place, covered or uncovered, outdoors or in an enclosed building, containing junk as defined above, upon which occurs one or more acts of buying, keeping, dismantling, processing, selling, or offering for sale any such junk, in whole units or by parts, for a business or commercial purpose, whether or not the proceeds from such act or acts are to be used for charity.

(4) "Junk dealer" shall mean a person who operates a junkyard, as defined above, within the City.

(5) "Business premises" or "premises" shall mean the area of a junkyard as described in a junk dealer's license or application for license.

(b) License required. It shall be unlawful for any person to act as a junk dealer in the City whether personally, by agents or employees, singly, or along with some other business or enterprise, without first having obtained a license therefor from the Clerk-Treasurer after approval by the Board of Public Works and Safety. A junk dealer who operates more than one (1) junkyard within the City shall be required to have in effect a separate license for each yard.

(c) Applications. An applicant for license shall file with the Clerk-Treasurer of a written application signed by himself, if an individual, by all partners, if a partnership, and by the president or chief officer and secretary of a corporation or other organization, upon forms provided by the Clerk-Treasurer, together with five (5) copies of such application and required fee. The application shall be sworn to by each of its signers before a notary public or other officer authorized by law to administer oaths and shall include the following information or material:

Junk dealer applications:

(1) Name, residence address, and telephone number of each individual owner, partner, or, if a corporation or other organization, each officer and director.

(2) Trade names used during the previous five (5) years by the applicant and each person signing the application, along with the locations of prior establishments.

(3) Names and addresses of employers of each person signing the application during the previous five (5) years.

(4) The trade name and address of the business on behalf of which application is made and its telephone number, if assigned.

(5) The name, residence address, and telephone number of each person employed or intended to be employed in the business as of the time the application is filed.

(6) Exact address or location of the place where the business is or is proposed to be carried on, plus a survey prepared by an Indiana licensed surveyor of the actual premises to be used in connection with the business, giving distances in feet and showing adjoining roads, property lines, easements and locations of all buildings on the business premises.

(7) A diagram or floor plan giving distances and heights, showing floors, exits, entrances, windows, ventilators, and walls of buildings, or on the business premises.

(8) Such other information as the Board of Public Works and Safety shall find reasonably necessary to effectuate the purposes of this ordinance and to arrive at a fair determination of whether the terms of this Section have been complied with.

(d) Investigation; approval and issuance of license; junk dealers:

(1) Upon receipt of an application for a junk dealer's license, the Clerk-Treasurer shall furnish copies of same to the members of the Board. The Chief of Police shall cause an investigation to be made of the applicant's business responsibility and moral character. The proposed or existing premises and equipment with which the junkyard is being or is to be operated shall be examined by the other members of the Board or their duly appointed representatives. No junk dealer's license shall be issued unless the application is approved by the Board.

(2) The license as issued shall bear the following language on its face: "IMPORTANT: This license applies only to the premises indicated herein and authorizes the licensee to operate a junkyard in a lawful place and manner only; it is not a substitute for any certificate of occupancy, building permit, or other certificate or permit that might be required by law and it does not relieve the licensee of the responsibility to have all such required permits or certificates at all times and comply with all laws affecting the above-described business."

(3) The Clerk-Treasurer shall keep a permanent record of all applications filed and all licenses issued in accordance with this Section.

(e) Period of license and renewal procedure.

(1) Any license or renewal license issued hereunder shall be effective as of the date of its issuance and shall expire one (1) year from the date of its issuance.

(2) An applicant for a renewal license shall file with the Clerk-Treasurer a written application upon forms provided by the Clerk-Treasurer, signed and sworn to in the same manner required in the case of an original application. The application shall contain such information of the licensed business during the preceding license period as is reasonably necessary to enable the Board to determine the applicant's eligibility for a renewal license.

(f) License fees. The annual fee to be paid for any license or renewal license issued hereunder shall be two hundred fifty dollars ($250.00), due and payable upon, and to be computed as of the date of issuance of such license.

(g) License not transferable. No license issued shall be transferred or assigned or used by any person other than the one to whom it was issued, and no junk dealer's license shall be used at any location other than the one described in the application upon which it was issued.

(h) General operating requirements. The following general operating requirements shall apply to all junk dealers licensed in accordance with the provisions of this Section:

(1) The license issued shall be conspicuously displayed on the business premises.

(2) The junkyard, together with things kept therein, shall at all times be maintained in a sanitary condition.

(3) No space not covered by the license shall be used in the licensed business.

(4) No water shall be allowed to stand in any place on the premises in such manner as to afford a breeding place for mosquitoes or other insects.

(5) Weeds and vegetation on the premises, other than trees, shall be kept at a height of not more than twelve (12) inches.

(6) No garbage or other waste liable to give off a 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 herein and is in use in the licensed business.

(7) No junk shall be allowed to rest upon or protrude over any public street, walkway, or curb or become scattered or blown off the business premises.

(8) Junk shall be stored in piles not exceeding eight (8) feet in height and shall be arranged so as to permit easy access to all such junk for firefighting purposes.

(9) No combustible material of any kind not necessary or beneficial to the licensed business shall be kept on the premises; nor shall the premises be allowed to become a fire hazard.

(10) Gasoline and oil shall be removed from any scrapped engines or vehicles on the premises.

(11) No junk or other material shall be burned on the premises in any incinerator not meeting the requirements of the Building Code; and no junk or other material shall be burned on the premises in the open except in accordance with requirements of the Fire Prevention Code, and the regulations promulgated by the Air Pollution Control Board of the State of Indiana.

(12) No noisy processing of junk or other noisy activity shall be carried upon the licensed business premises on Sundays, or on any day between the hours of 6:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m.

(13) The area on the premises where junk is kept (other than indoors) shall be enclosed, except for entrances and exits, with a solid vertical wall or fence of a minimum height of twelve (12) feet measured from ground level and constructed of nonflammable materials. Entrances and exits shall not be wider or more numerous than reasonably necessary for the conduct of the licensed business. The height of any junk stored on the premises shall not exceed the height of such wall or fence.

(14) The license shall permit inspection of the business premises by any member or representative of the Board at any reasonable time.

(15) No junk dealer licensed hereunder or his agent or employee shall purchase or receive any junk for use in the licensed business from any person under the age of eighteen (18) years without the written consent of a parent or guardian of such person. Such writing shall be held available for inspection by any member, or representative of the Board for a period of at least three (3) years.

(16) Each acquisition of junk shall be recorded in English in a permanent register kept on the business premises, giving the name and residence address of the person from whom the acquisition was made, a description of the junk acquired, and the date of the transaction. Such data shall be held available for inspection by any member, or representative of the Board for a period of at least three (3) years.

(17) No junkyard shall be allowed to become a nuisance; nor shall any junkyard be operated in such manner as to become injurious to the health, safety, or welfare of the community or of any residents.

(i) Inspections. The Board of Public Works and Safety or its duly authorized representatives, shall inspect the junkyards of all junk dealers licensed under this Section at least once a year to determine whether such yards are being operated in accordance with the provisions of this Section and other applicable provisions of law. Such inspections shall be by written report filed with the Board of Public Works and Safety.

(j) Revocation and suspension. When the Common Council, after proper notice and hearing, determines that the public interest so requires, it shall revoke or suspend the license of any junk dealer when it finds, after due investigation, that:

(1) The junk dealer or any agent or officer of such dealer who takes part in the operation of the licensed business is not of good character or reputation or is not capable of operating the licensed business or carrying on the licensed activity in a manner consistent with public health and safety; or

(2) The junk dealer has failed to comply with the provisions of this Section or any provision of law applicable to the premises, equipment, or operation of the licensed business; or

(3) The licensee has obtained his license through fraud or misstatement; or

(4) The licensed business or activity is being conducted in a manner detrimental to the health, safety, or general welfare of the public, or is a nuisance, or is being operated or carried on in an unlawful manner; or

(5) The licensed business or activity is no longer being operated or carried on.

(6) The Common Council shall file a copy of its findings and determination with the Clerk-Treasurer within twenty-four (24) hours after they are made, and shall comply with all of the provisions of Section 4-3 of this Code.

(k) Penalties. Any person, firm or corporation violating any of the provisions of this Section shall, upon conviction thereof, be fined in an amount not exceeding Three Hundred Dollars ($300.00). Each day such violation is committed or permitted to continue, shall constitute a separate offense.

(Ord. No. 71-16, § 8, 6-17-71)

(Ord. No. 71-16, § 11, 6-17-71)