Walton Village City Zoning Code
ARTICLE XI
Junk, Junkyards and Automobile Graveyards
§ 260-33 Purpose.
This article shall include all properties within the Village limits that are in use or intended for use as a junkyard, automobile graveyard, or automobile reclamation center. Junk, junkyards, automobile graveyards and automobile reclamation centers shall be as defined in Article II of this chapter.
All junkyards shall be licensed and pay an annual registration fee to the Village of Walton.
All junkyards shall comply with Article XIV, Site Plan Review, before the Code Enforcement Official issues a Village of Walton junkyard license.
No junk shall be located so as to be visible from any public roadways.
No junk shall be stored within:
One hundred feet of any adjoining property line.
Five hundred feet of any public park, church, educational facility, nursing home, public building or other place of public gathering.
Two hundred fifty feet of any stream, lake, pond, wetland or other body of water.
One hundred feet from the right-of-way line of any public street, road, or highway.
§ 260-34 Screening.
Where a junkyard is or would be visible from a public roadway or from neighboring properties, there shall be erected and maintained an eight-foot-high opaque fence to screen the junk storage area. All junkyard items dealt with by the operation of the junkyard shall be kept within such screening at all times so that the junkyard items are not visible from the public highway or from neighboring properties.
The fence shall be made of wood or other acceptable materials as approved by the Village of Walton Planning Board, and they shall screen the totality of the junk storage area from view.
At the discretion of the Planning Board, a screening of natural materials such as trees, berms and shrubs may be allowed, provided that the screening method obtains a height of at least eight feet and it screens all junk in totality from public highways and neighboring properties.
§ 260-35 Burning.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
No materials shall be burned in a junkyard except in compliance with the New York State Outdoor Burning Law (6 NYCRR 215).
§ 260-36 Burying.
No junk items shall be buried in the Village as part of the operation of a junkyard.
§ 260-37 Approved junkyard items.
No junkyard items shall be stored on any junk storage area other than those items specified on a junkyard license approved by the Village of Walton pursuant to this chapter.
§ 260-38 License required.
No person shall establish or maintain a junkyard within the Village of Walton unless a license has first been issued for such junkyard pursuant to this chapter.
No person owning, having any right to, or any interest in any real property within the Village shall license, rent, lease, or otherwise permit the use of such real property to any part thereof for a junkyard unless a license has first been issued for such junkyard pursuant to this chapter.
All licenses shall be issued for a period of one year, after which time renewal shall be required.
Any properties currently being used as a junkyard shall comply with the requirements of these regulations within six months of the adoption of this chapter.
§ 260-39 Application procedure.
Application. The applicant for a junkyard license 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 Village Clerk-Treasurer for submission to the Village of Walton Planning Board.
Site plan contents.
All site plans shall be drawn to scale and indicate all dimensions as shown.
All site plans for a junkyard shall include all requirements listed in Article XIV, Site Plan Review, as well as the following:
All existing and proposed structures, including fencing.
All property lines, including the names of the owners of adjacent property.
All streams, lakes, wetlands, floodplains, and other water bodies.
All wells and sanitary facilities.
All roads and easements.
All existing and proposed junk storage areas.
All existing and proposed accessways and parking and loading areas.
Environmental review. An environmental assessment form (EAF) pursuant to SEQRA (6 NYCRR 617) shall be completed and submitted with the completed application before action by the Village of Walton Planning Board.
Application fee. The application fee shall be a minimum of $50 and set by the Village of Walton Board. The fee must accompany the application before action by the Planning Board.
Public hearing. The Planning Board must conduct a public hearing within 62 days of receiving a completed application. Notice of the hearing shall be posted in the official Village newspaper, and the applicant must notify all adjoining property owners by certified mail at least 10 days before the hearing.
§ 260-40 Planning Board action.
The Planning Board must render a decision to approve, approve with conditions or disapprove the application within 62 days of the public hearing. The sixty-two-day period may be extended by mutual consent of the Board and the applicant. A final decision must be filed with the Village Clerk-Treasurer within 10 days of the final decision, and the Code Enforcement Official shall issue a license within 30 days of the decision.
§ 260-41 License renewal.
The Code Enforcement Official shall approve applications for renewal after an inspection to ensure the conditions of the original license and site plan have been adhered to. Any changes to the original license will result in a new application to the Village Planning Board.
§ 260-42 Revocation of license.
The Village Planning Board may revoke a junkyard license upon reasonable cause if the applicant fails to comply with all of the provisions of this article. A public hearing must be held before revocation, and the license holder shall be notified of such hearing by certified mail at least 10 days in advance. If the Planning Board revokes a license for cause, it must be filed with the Village Clerk, and all reasons shall be stated. After such time, the license holder has a minimum of 30 days and a maximum of 90 days to clean up all junk and bring the property into compliance with the provisions of this chapter.
§ 260-43 Exemptions.
This article shall not apply to any property owner who is in the process of restoring, storing or utilizing a classic or antique car as defined in Article II of this chapter.
§ 260-44 Outdoor storage.
No person, as owner, occupant, lessee or agent, or in any capacity, shall store, deposit, place, maintain or cause or permit to be stored, deposited, placed or maintained outdoors any solid waste, rubbish or debris upon any private property within the Village.
The placement of garbage for collection shall not be deemed a violation of this article.
Whenever it shall appear that the provisions of this article are violated, the Code Enforcement Official shall make an inspection of the property involved and shall prepare a written report of the conditions found, which report shall be filed with the Village Board.
A written notice shall be sent by certified mail to the owner or owner's agent and the lessee or occupant of the premises. The notice must include the following:
Names of the owner and lessee or occupant of the property in violation.
The address or location of the premises.
Identification of the premises as the same that appears on the current assessment role.
A statement of the conditions on the property deemed upon inspection to be in violation of this article.
A statement requiring the property to be brought into compliance and all waste, rubbish, motor vehicles and debris to be removed within 10 days after receipt of the certified mailing.
A statement that a failure to comply with the request may result in authorized Village personnel entering the property for removal and disposal of all waste, debris, rubbish and/or motor vehicles.
The notice shall also include a date, time and location in which the Village Board will hold a public hearing to determine if the conditions of the property constitute a public nuisance. The hearing must be held before action of authorized Village personnel, and the owner, lessee or owner's agent shall have an opportunity to speak at said hearing in their defense.
After a public hearing, the Village Board may deem the property in question as a public nuisance and order the removal of all solid waste, rubbish, debris and/or motor vehicles from the property at the owner's expense to be billed by the requirements of this article.
§ 260-45 Penalties for offenses.
Any person(s) who shall violate any of the provisions of this article shall be guilty of an offense and subject to a fine of not more than $250 for each offense. Every such person shall be deemed guilty of a separate offense for each week such violation, disobedience, omission, neglect, or refusal shall continue.