[HISTORY: Adopted by the Borough Council of the Borough of
Stockertown 8-2-2004 by Ord. No. 249. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Property maintenance — See Ch. 177.
Vehicles and traffic — See Ch. 228.
Zoning — See Ch. 250.
It is hereby determined and declared that the placement, abandonment,
leaving, keeping or storing out of doors of any motor vehicle not
currently in use for transportation and not licensed for the current
licensed year, unless authorized by a restoration permit, or any other
unused machine or equipment on public or private lands in the Borough
is contrary and inimical to the public welfare in that such articles
so placed, abandoned or left, kept or stored attract or may attract
persons of tender years who, being so attracted, may play in and about
and may be injured in doing so, and in that such articles so placed,
abandoned or left, kept or stored out of doors, exposed to the elements,
deteriorate and in themselves are unsightly and, deteriorated, become
more unsightly and are detrimental to depreciate the value of properties
in the neighborhood where they are located and in the Borough as a
whole.
A.
No person shall place, abandon or leave, keep or store, or suffer
or permit the placing, abandoning, leaving, keeping or storing, of
any article described in § 235-3 of this chapter out of
doors upon any public or private lands in the Borough or between the
right-of-way side lines of any public thoroughfare therein unless
permitted hereunder.
B.
Nothing herein contained shall be deemed to prohibit the placing,
keeping or storage of any such article in an enclosed garage, barn
or other building.
C.
Nothing herein contained shall be deemed to prohibit the placing,
keeping or storage out of doors of a motor vehicle not currently in
use for transportation and not licensed for the current licensed year
on private lands in the Borough if the owner of such private lands
has been issued a restoration permit for such motor vehicle.
D.
It is prohibited to occupy, use, rent, or live in any trailer, camper,
RV or boat as a dwelling or temporary "guesthouse" while parked or
stored on private property unless a permit has been issued by the
Borough for a period not to exceed seven days and which may be renewed.
E.
No commercial vehicle, or part thereof or combination thereof, having
a registered gross weight, either solely or in combination exceeding
8,000 pounds, or which is in excess of 18 feet in length, shall be
parked, stored or maintained on any street, road right-of-way, lot
or within any building or structure in any residential district established
by Chapter 250, Zoning, except a construction vehicle or vehicles
owned by a contractor or other tradesman temporarily engaged in the
performance of actual work or delivery of materials to any location.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
- ABANDONED VEHICLE
- The intent of the owner shall be determined by the physical
condition of the vehicle; statements of the owner as to its abandonment;
the length of time since the vehicle has last been used on the highway;
whether the vehicle is currently licensed, registered or inspected;
and other relevant facts. With respect to a vehicle not required to
be licensed or a vehicle not usually used on public highways, the
intent of the owner shall be determined by the physical condition
of the motor vehicle, the length of time since it was last used for
the purpose intended, any statement as to its abandonment by the owner
and other relevant facts.
- ANTIQUE MOTOR VEHICLE
- A motor vehicle, but not a reproduction thereof, manufactured
more than 25 years prior to the current year and which, because of
discontinued production and limited availability, is considered to
be a model or make of significant value to collectors or exhibitors
and which has been maintained in or restored to a condition which
is substantially in conformity with the manufacturer's specifications
and appearance.
- BOROUGH/BORO
- All areas within the Borough of Stockertown, both publicly
and privately owned.
- CLASSIC MOTOR VEHICLE
- A motor vehicle, but not a reproduction thereof, manufactured
more than 10 years prior to the current year and which, because of
discontinued production and limited availability, is considered to
be a model or make of significant value to collectors or exhibitors
and which has been maintained in or restored or will be maintained
in or restored to a condition which is substantially in conformity
with the manufacturer's specifications and appearance.
- COMMERCIAL GARAGE
- Any business permitted by the Borough to repair motor vehicles
or any part thereof.
- DISCARDED VEHICLE(S)
- Any vehicle(s) which the owner thereof, as established by
the surrounding circumstances, relinquishes ownership and possession
of and any vehicle(s) the owner of which cannot be found after due
and reasonable inquiry.
- ENCLOSURE
- A completely enclosed privacy-type structure or fence constructed
of wood, metal or masonry, which shall be at least six feet in height
and not more than eight feet in height and of such construction and
type that an ordinary person of ordinary height and eyesight cannot
see into the enclosure. Such enclosure shall be adequately maintained
so as not to create an eyesore to the community.
- ENFORCEMENT OFFICER
- The Code Enforcement Officer(s), the Zoning Officer, the
Building Inspectors or any Police Officer whose powers and duties
are within or include the Borough of Stockertown.
- JUNK VEHICLE
- Any vehicle which, for any reason, is incapable, without
repair, of being moved or propelled by application of internal power,
if it is a vehicle originally designed to be propelled by internal
power, or is incapable, without repair, of being drawn or towed, if
it is a vehicle originally designed to be towed or drawn from behind
an internally powered vehicle, and, as adjudged by the standards of
an ordinary reasonable man, is unsightly in appearance because of
the existence of one or more conditions, such as but not limited to
the following: deterioration by rust of the body; deterioration of
the exterior finish of the vehicle; broken windows; absence of component
parts of the vehicle (such as fenders, panels, doors, bumpers, headlights,
hood, trunk door, tires, wheels, grille, roof or tailgate); physical
damage (such as dents, cracks, scraps or holes) to component parts
of the vehicle; and absence of interior components (such as seats,
dashboard or interior door moldings), or is incapable of being moved
or propelled, drawn or towed without repair as provided for hereinabove
and has remained situate on any real property for a period in excess
of 30 days.
- JUNKYARD
- Any place of storage or deposit licensed by the Borough where
two or more unlicensed, old or secondhand motor vehicles no longer
intended or in condition for legal use on the public highways are
held, whether for the purpose of resale of used parts therefrom; for
the purpose of reclaiming for use some or all of the materials therein,
whether metal, glass, fabric or otherwise, for the purpose of disposing
of the same; or for any other purpose. Such term shall include any
place of storage or deposit for such purposes of used parts or waste
materials from motor vehicles which, taken together, equal in bulk
two or more such vehicles.
- OPEN STORAGE
- Storage other than in a completely enclosed structure constructed
of wood, masonry, metal or weather resistant material.
- OWNER OF PRIVATE PROPERTY
- The legal owner, contract purchaser, tenant, lessee, occupant,
subtenant, trustee, bailee, receiver or assignee of premises or real
property located within the Borough of Stockertown.
- OWNER OF VEHICLE
- The person having the property and/or title to a vehicle,
including a person entitled to the use and possession of a vehicle
subject to a security interest of another person, and also including
any lessee or bailee of a vehicle having the use thereof under lease
or otherwise.
- PERSON
- An individual, firm, partnership, association, corporation,
company or organization.
- REGISTERED GROSS WEIGHT
- Shall have the meaning ascribed to it in the definitions
section of the Pennsylvania Vehicle Code.
- REPAIR SETTLEMENT
- Determination by whatever means, including settlement of
a claim, arbitration or legal action, that any person other than the
owner of a vehicle is liable to pay or will pay for the repair of
damage to a vehicle resulting from any vehicular accident.
- UNLICENSED VEHICLE
- Any vehicle which may be licensed or registered for operation
on public highways and which has not been registered during the preceding
six months or is not currently registered and not in a condition for
legal use on the public highways. A vehicle which is in a condition
to receive a current Pennsylvania State motor vehicle inspection shall
be deemed to be in a condition for legal use on the public highways.
- VEHICLE
- Any means of transport or conveyance operated, driven, drawn
or capable and intended to be operated, drawn or driven upon a public
highway by a power other than physical power. A "vehicle" shall include
but not be limited to automobiles, motorcycles, motorbikes, scooters,
buses, all types of trailers, including trailers used for storage,
trucks, tractors, mobile homes, other than those legally in use in
an authorized mobile home park, recreational vehicles, snowmobiles,
all-terrain vehicles and jitneys or any other contraption originally
designed and intended for travel on the public highways.
- WRECKER
- Any business permitted by the Borough to tow or haul other
motor vehicles.
A.
It shall
be unlawful for any person, firm or corporation, either as a private
property owner, vehicle owner, occupant, lessee, agent, tenant or
otherwise, to openly store or deposit or cause or permit to be openly
stored or deposited an abandoned, junked, discarded or unlicensed
vehicle or vehicles or parts or pieces thereof on any private property
within the Borough of Stockertown.
B.
Except
as permitted in junkyards or by this chapter, unless such vehicle
or part or piece thereof is stored or deposited in a completely enclosed
building or such vehicle or part or piece thereof is under repair,
reconstruction or refurbishing by the owner thereof, who must actually
be residing upon the premises where such repair, reconstruction or
refurbishing is being done.
C.
Such vehicle
or part or piece thereof must be maintained and protected so as not
to create a safety hazard or nuisance to surrounding property owners
and shall not remain on the premises for more than 30 days, but not
on a public highway right-of-way.
A motor vehicle restoration permit will be issued by the Borough
Secretary for the Borough of Stockertown on the following terms and
conditions:
A.
A restoration permit will be issued to the private property owner
only.
B.
The motor vehicle being restored shall be titled to the property
owner being issued the permit.
C.
Only one motor vehicle restoration permit at a time will be issued
to a property owner.
D.
The motor vehicle restoration permit shall be valid for a maximum
of one motor vehicle and shall be valid for one year from the date
of issuance.
E.
At all times that the motor vehicle is not being worked on for restoration,
said vehicle of the property owner shall be covered with an approved
car cover and the area shall be free of debris, litter, discarded
parts or equipment utilized for the restoration.
F.
An approved car cover must cover the entire vehicle and be securely
fastened to the vehicle. An approved car cover shall be made of material
which will resist wind, rain and other weather-related circumstances.
The use of bricks, stones, blocks or other material as a fastener
shall not be permitted.
G.
The area where the motor vehicle is being stored, placed or left
shall be subject to periodic and random inspections by the Stockertown
Police Department. Should it be determined that the subject motor
vehicle is not being restored or the area surrounding the vehicle
being restored is not properly maintained and free of debris, litter,
unused parts or equipment, then, in that event, the restoration permit
will be rescinded and the property owner will be subject to other
provisions of this chapter.
A.
Any person may maintain a motor vehicle altered for drag or stock-car
racing as long as said motor vehicle is maintained on registered trailers.
Vehicles may not be kept in the front yard, and any work done on said
vehicles shall not interfere with the setting of the neighborhood.
B.
Owners of antique motor vehicles which are classified as such under
the state statutes are exempt for the provisions of this chapter as
long as they are properly registered and all regulations set forth
by the state are followed.
C.
Farm machinery kept on the farmer's own premises shall be exempt
from the articles of this chapter as long as they are maintained and
kept in an orderly manner.
D.
New or used automobile dealers that are licensed by the State of
Pennsylvania for the purpose of displaying vehicles for sale to the
general public and have received zoning approval will be exempt from
this chapter as long as they hold a current dealer's license.
E.
Service stations (repair garages) and auto body repair shops will
also be exempt from the provisions of this chapter as long as they
are permitted by the Borough for the type of business they are conducting
and have received zoning approval for the area where they are operating.
They shall maintain a neat and orderly lot and limit the number of
vehicles that are being kept on the lot for repairs, according to
the size of the available space. No vehicle shall be kept on the lot
for more than 30 days awaiting repairs.
A.
A wrecker or commercial garage
may store abandoned, junked or unlicensed vehicle(s) or part thereof
on any one site within the Borough, provided that such storage is
confined in an enclosed area and such vehicle(s) may not be stored
for more than 30 days, and provided further that the business operation
of the wrecker or commercial garage is permitted by all applicable
zoning laws or regulations, including rights under any nonconforming
uses and including any limitations, restrictions or conditions established
according to law by the Borough, the Planning Board or any court of
competent jurisdiction, and provided that the vehicle(s) is not stored
at any time on a public highway right-of-way.
B.
Where a repair settlement is pending in good faith, the foregoing
time periods shall not start to run until a repair settlement has
been made, but in no event to exceed 60 days from the date said vehicle(s)
is (are) first stored upon the premises.
C.
In the event that any abandoned, junked or unlicensed vehicle or
part thereof is stored at any wrecker or commercial garage and such
wrecker or commercial garage is restrained from allowing the owner
to move said vehicle from the location of such wrecker or commercial
garage by reason of a legal detainer or order of any federal, state,
county or local government agency or body, the thirty-day period of
time as provided for in Subsection A hereinabove shall not commence
to run until said legal detainer or order is released or vacated.
Any vehicle being actively used in farming operations shall
be exempted from the provisions of this chapter, provided that:
A.
The vehicle is being used on private property and is being held for
continuing operation on private property and is not being held primarily
for non-operating purposes.
B.
The vehicle, if not in a condition for legal operation on public
highways, is in a condition so that it can be operated and so that
such operation on private property will not be unduly dangerous to
the operator, passengers or others.
C.
The vehicle is in such condition that there is no sharp metal, broken
glass or other condition which would endanger children who might be
attracted to play around the vehicle.
It shall be a violation of this chapter to make any repairs
or greasing or fluid changes to any vehicle while it is parked on
a roadway within the Borough of Stockertown.
No person operating a business within the limits of the Borough
of Stockertown shall display or permit to be displayed any vehicle
for sale unless he has obtained approval from the Stockertown Borough
Zoning Officer, unless said vehicle is registered to the business
owners or titled to such, except as stated in § 235-6.
It shall be unlawful for any person or persons, firm, company,
partnership or corporation, whether by principal or agent, to park,
store or permit to be parked or stored any abandoned vehicle on the
public streets or alleys or on any Borough Property of the Borough
of Stockertown.
It shall be unlawful for any person or persons, firm, company,
partnership or corporation, whether by principal or agent, to park,
store or permit to be parked or stored any junked vehicle on public
or private property within the Borough of Stockertown.
A.
Any vehicle which is parked or permitted to stand on any public street
or alley for a continuous period exceeding 48 hours unattended and
not bearing one of the following: a valid registration plate, a certificate
of inspection and an ascertainable vehicle identification number;
and
B.
Any vehicle which shall stand or be parked on a public street or
alley for a period of 48 hours without the consent of the owner or
person in control.
A Borough Officer may enforce this chapter by either issuing
a citation or removing the vehicle pursuant to the provisions of § 235-17 or by invoking both enforcement provisions.
There shall be a presumption that a person who has received
the notice prescribed by § 235-20 has openly stored or deposited
or caused or permitted to be openly stored or deposited an abandoned
junked, discarded or unlicensed vehicle described in said notice.
Whenever it shall appear to any member of the Police Department
of the Borough of Stockertown that § 235-2 of this chapter
is being violated and that the land on which the violation exists
is privately owned, he shall, in writing, notify the owner or tenant
in possession of the land on which the violation exists to abate the
violation by removing the article or articles constituting the violation
from the Borough or into an enclosed garage, barn or other building
within 10 days of the service of the notice, which notice shall be
served upon such owner or tenant, if he resides in the Borough, personally
or by leaving it at his usual place of abode with some member of his
household over the age of 14 years, but if any such owner or tenant
shall reside outside the Borough, the notice shall be served upon
him by registered or certified mail addressed to him at his usual
residence if ascertainable, otherwise by notice published in the newspaper
in which the legal notices of the Borough may be published, and the
said owner or tenant shall so abate the violation within the time
fixed by the notice.
Whenever it shall appear to any member of the Police Department
of the Borough of Stockertown that § 235-2 of this chapter
is being violated and that the violation exists on public lands or
between the right-of-way side lines of any public thoroughfare:
A.
He shall determine whether any article constituting the violation
constitutes or may constitute a traffic hazard, and if so, he shall
move it or cause it to be moved to a nonhazardous location or into
an enclosed storage place.
B.
He shall ascertain, if he can, who is the owner of the article or
articles and shall, in writing, notify such owner to abate the violation
forthwith and in all events within 10 days after the service of the
notice upon him, which notice shall be given as required in § 235-20
for the service of notice thereunder.
C.
He shall, if any article constituting the violation constitutes or
may constitute a traffic hazard and it cannot be moved to a nonhazardous
location or if the name and address of the owner of the article cannot
he ascertained or if the violation is not abated in the time required
by the notice given under the foregoing Subsection B:
(1)
Determine whether the article or articles have a value in excess
of the cost of removing it or them to enclosed storage and the cost
of storing it or them for three months in the case of motor vehicles
and for six months for all other articles.
(2)
Unless the articles appear to have a value clearly in excess of such
cost, arrange, if he can, for the removal of it or them by someone
who will undertake that removal without cost to the Borough, but otherwise
arrange for that removal at the expense of the Borough to an authorized
dump.
(3)
If the article or articles appear to have a value clearly in excess
of said cost, remove it or them or cause it or them to be removed
at the expense of the Borough to enclosed storage.
(4)
If the article or articles are removed under the foregoing Subsection A or Subsection C(2) or (3), give notice, in the manner required by
§ 235-20, for service of notice thereunder, to the owner
of that removal and of the place to which the article or articles
have been removed and of the owner's right to reclaim it or them
by paying the cost of removal and interim storage charges.
A.
Any person
or persons, firm, company, partnership or corporation violating any
of the provisions of this chapter shall, upon conviction before the
Magisterial District Judge, pay a fine of not more than $300 plus
court cost for each offense, and the accrued cost of the Borough for
that prosecution.
B.
Each abandoned,
junked, discarded or unregistered vehicle stored in violation of this
chapter shall constitute a separate violation. Each day that such
separate violation shall continue or be carried on shall constitute
an additional separate violation, for which the court may impose an
additional fine and continuing fine until the vehicle(s) is (are)
removed or enclosed.
If any vehicle described in this chapter shall be left for a
period of more than 10 days on any private property, it shall be considered
in violation, and notice shall be served. If the violation occurs
on lands owned by the Borough of Stockertown, immediate action can
be taken to correct the violation before notice is sent to the owner
of the vehicle in question.
When a violation is observed, the Borough of Stockertown Police
Department or the Zoning Officer of the Borough of Stockertown shall
serve notice to the tenant, owner or occupant in possession of the
land that a violation exists. This notice will serve as notice that
the violation must be corrected within 10 days of service of such
notice. This notice shall be served upon the owner, tenant or occupant
personally, by leaving it with any household member, by posting, it
at the residence in question or by posting it on the vehicle in question.
If the owner is known to reside outside the Borough, then notice shall
be served upon him by certified mail, addressed to him at the address
of record, such as the address on the tax rolls or address at Pennsylvania
Department of Motor Vehicles.
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