Section 136. Regulation of automobile junk yards

1. Legislative intent. A
  clean, wholesome, attractive environment is declared to be of importance
  to the health and safety of the  inhabitants  and  the  safeguarding  of
  their  material  rights against unwarrantable invasion and, in addition,
  such an environment is deemed essential to the maintenance and continued
  development of the economy of the state and the general welfare  of  its
  citizens.  It  is further declared that the unrestrained accumulation of
  junk motor vehicles is a hazard to such health, safety  and  welfare  of
  citizens  of  the  state  necessitating  the  regulation,  restraint and
  elimination thereof. At  the  same  time,  it  is  recognized  that  the
  maintenance  of  junk  yards  as  hereinafter  defined,  is a useful and
  necessary business and ought to be encouraged when not in conflict  with
  the express purposes of this section.
    2.  Definitions.  For  the purposes of this section, "junk yard" shall
  mean any place of storage or deposit, whether in connection with another
  business or not, where two or  more  unregistered,  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 any such purposes of
  used parts or waste materials from motor vehicles which, taken together,
  equal in bulk two or more such vehicles provided, however, the term junk
  yard shall not be construed to mean an establishment  having  facilities
  for  processing  iron,  steel  or  nonferrous  scrap and whose principal
  produce is scrap iron, steel or nonferrous scrap for sale for  remelting
  purposes only.
    "Municipality"  as used in this section shall mean a city of less than
  one million in population, town or village.
    "Motor vehicle" shall mean all vehicles propelled or  drawn  by  power
  other  than  muscular  power  originally  intended  for  use  on  public
  highways.
    3. Requirement for operation or maintenance. No person shall  operate,
  establish or maintain a junk yard until he (1) has obtained a license to
  operate  a  junk  yard  business  and  (2) has obtained a certificate of
  approval for the location of such junk yard.
    4. Application for license and certificate  of  approval.  Application
  for  the  license and the certificate of approved location shall be made
  in writing to the governing  board  of  the  municipality  where  it  is
  proposed to locate the junk yard, and, in municipalities having a zoning
  ordinance  or  local  law  and  a zoning board, the application shall be
  accompanied by a certificate from the zoning  board  that  the  proposed
  location  is  not within an established district restricted against such
  uses or otherwise contrary to the prohibitions of such zoning  ordinance
  or local law. The application shall contain a description of the land to
  be included within the junk yard.
    5.  Hearing.  A  hearing  on  the application shall be held within the
  municipality not less than two nor more than four weeks from the date of
  the receipt of the application by the legislative body.  Notice  of  the
  hearing shall be given to the applicant by mail, postage prepaid, to the
  address  given  in  the  application  and  shall  be published once in a
  newspaper  having  a  circulation   within   the   municipality,   which
  publication  shall  be  not  less than seven days before the date of the
  hearing.
    6. License requirements. At the time and place set  for  hearing,  the
  governing  board  shall hear the applicant and all other persons wishing
  to be heard on the application for a license to  operate,  establish  or

  maintain  the  junk yard. In considering such application, it shall take
  into account the suitability of the  applicant  with  reference  to  his
  ability  to  comply  with  the  fencing requirements or other reasonable
  regulations  concerning  the  proposed  junk  yard,  to  any  record  of
  convictions for any type of larceny or receiving of stolen goods, and to
  any other matter within the purposes of this section.
    7. Location requirements. At the time and place set for  hearing,  the
  governing  board  shall hear the applicant and all other persons wishing
  to be heard on the application  for  certificate  of  approval  for  the
  location  of  the  junk  yard.  In passing upon same, it shall take into
  account, after proof of legal ownership or right  to  such  use  of  the
  property  for  the  license  period  by  the  applicant,  the nature and
  development of surrounding property, such as the proximity of  churches,
  schools,   hospitals,   public  buildings  or  other  places  of  public
  gathering; and whether or not the proposed location  can  be  reasonably
  protected  from  affecting  the  public  health  and safety by reason of
  offensive or unhealthy odors or smoke, or of other causes.
    8. Aesthetic considerations. At the hearing regarding location of  the
  junk  yard,  the  governing  board may also take into account the clean,
  wholesome and attractive environment which has been declared  to  be  of
  vital  importance  to  the  continued general welfare of its citizens by
  considering whether or not  the  proposed  location  can  be  reasonably
  protected  from having an unfavorable effect thereon. In this connection
  the governing board may consider collectively the type of road servicing
  the junk yard or from which the junk yard may be seen,  the  natural  or
  artificial barriers protecting the junk yard from view, the proximity of
  the proposed junk yard to established residential and recreational areas
  or main access routes thereto, as well as the reasonable availability of
  other suitable sites for the junk yard.
    9. Grant or denial of application; appeal. After hearing the governing
  board  shall,  within two weeks, make a finding as to whether or not the
  application should be granted, giving notice of  their  finding  to  the
  applicant  by  mail,  postage  prepaid,  to  the  address  given  on the
  application. If approved, the  license,  including  the  certificate  of
  approved  location,  shall be forthwith issued to remain in effect until
  the following April first. Approval shall be personal to  the  applicant
  and not assignable. Licenses shall be renewed thereafter upon payment of
  the  annual license fee without hearing, provided all provisions of this
  chapter are complied with during the license period, the junk yard  does
  not  become  a public nuisance under the common law and the applicant is
  not convicted of any type of larceny or the receiving of  stolen  goods.
  The  determination  of the governing board may be reviewed under article
  seventy-eight of the civil practice law and rules.
    10. License fees. The annual license fee shall be twenty-five  dollars
  to  be  paid at the time the application is made and annually thereafter
  in the event of renewal. In event the application is  not  granted,  the
  fee  shall  be returned to the applicant. A municipality, in addition to
  the license fee, may assess the applicant with the costs of  advertising
  such application and such other reasonable costs incident to the hearing
  as are clearly attributable thereto and may make the license conditional
  upon payment of same.
    11.  Fencing.  Before  use,  a  new  junk  yard  shall  be  completely
  surrounded  with  a  fence  at  least  eight  feet   in   height   which
  substantially screens and with a suitable gate which shall be closed and
  locked  except  during  the  working hours of such junk yard or when the
  applicant or his agent shall be within. Such fence shall be erected  not
  nearer  than  fifty  feet  from a public highway. All motor vehicles and
  parts thereof stored or deposited by the applicant shall be kept  within

  the  enclosure of the junk yard except as removal shall be necessary for
  the transportation of same in the reasonable course of the business. All
  wrecking or other work on such motor vehicles and parts and all  burning
  of  same  within  the  vicinity  of  the junk yard shall be accomplished
  within the enclosure.
    Where the topography, natural growth of timber or other considerations
  accomplish the purposes of this chapter in whole or in part, the fencing
  requirements hereunder may be reduced  by  the  legislative  body,  upon
  granting  the  license,  provided,  however,  that  such natural barrier
  conforms with the purposes of this chapter.
    12. Effect of local ordinances or local laws. This section  shall  not
  be  construed  to affect or supersede zoning ordinances or local laws or
  any other ordinances or local laws for the control of junk yards now  in
  effect  or  hereafter  enacted  in  any  municipality  within the proper
  exercise of the police power of such a municipality  and  shall  not  be
  deemed to apply to any municipality which has any ordinance or local law
  or regulation to license or regulate junk yards.
    13.  Established  junk  yards.  For  the  purposes of this section the
  location of junk yards already established shall be considered  approved
  by  the  governing board of the municipality where located and the owner
  thereof deemed suitable for the issuance of a license. Within sixty days
  from the passage of this section, however, the owner shall  furnish  the
  governing  board  the information as to location which is required in an
  application, together with the license  fee,  and  the  governing  board
  shall  issue  him  a  license valid until the next April first, at which
  time such owner may apply for renewal as  herein  provided.  Such  owner
  shall  comply  with  all  other provisions of this section including the
  fencing requirements set forth in subdivision eleven of this section.
    14. Notwithstanding any of the foregoing provisions of  this  section,
  no  junk  yard,  hereafter  established, shall be licensed to operate of
  such yard or any part thereof shall be within five  hundred  feet  of  a
  church, school, hospital, public building or place of public assembly.
    15.  Violators  of any of the portions of this section shall be guilty
  of an offense punishable by a fine not exceeding one hundred dollars and
  each  week  that  such  violation  is  carried  on  or  continues  shall
  constitute a separate violation.