PLEASE SUBMIT COMPLAINTS IN WRITING TO:

         Richard Nelson

         P.O. Box 117

         Copemish, MI 49625

         231-378-2252

 

SPRINGDALE TOWNSHIP BLIGHT AND JUNK ORDINANCE

Ordinance No. 2015-1

AN ORDINANCE TO REGULATE AND CONTROL THE STORAGE AND DISPOSAL OF JUNK WITHIN THE TOWNSHIP; TO PROVIDE FOR THE ELIMINATION OF BLIGHTED STRUCTURES AND BUILDINGS; TO REGULATE THE OPERATION OF JUNKYARDS; TO PROVIDE FOR THE ENFORCEMENT HEREOF AND TO PRESCRIBE PENALTIES FOR THE VIOLATION OF THIS ORDINANCE; AND TO REPEAL ALL ORDINANCES IN CONFLICT HEREWITH.

THE TOWNSHIP OF SPRINGDALE ORDAINS:

 

SECTION 1: TITLE, PURPOSE AND LEGAL BASIS

1.01 This ordinance shall be known and may be cited as the “Springdale Township Blight and Junk Ordinance of 2015”, and shall be known in the short form as the “Blight and Junk Ordinance”.

1.02 The purpose of this ordinance is to regulate and control the storage and disposal of junk within the unincorporated areas of Springdale Township, in order to promote the public health, safety and welfare; to protect land values; provide for safety for residents in the area from dangerous junk; to protect the groundwater lying beneath the Township; to reduce the incidence of blight and vermin; and to protect aesthetics in the Township and to regulate matters of legitimate Township concern. This ordinance is specifically designed to:

1. Define certain terms used herein.

2. Regulate the volume and conditions under which a person may store junk on one’s own land.

3. Regulate and coordinate with the Township the use and operation of junkyards in the Township.

4. Provide for enforcement and a system of due process for removal of junk from one’s land.

5. Provide for other miscellaneous provisions necessary for regulation of the Township’s affairs.

1.03 This ordinance is enacted pursuant to Section 1 of 1945 P.A. 246, being MCL 41.181 as amended, and 1929 P.A. 123, being MCL 445.451 as amended.

 

SECTION 2: DEFINITIONS

2.01 The following terms shall have the meanings herein assigned, unless the context clearly requires otherwise.

1. ABANDONED VEHICLE means any automobile or other motorized or non-motorized vehicle which has remained on the property of another for a period of forty-eight (48) continuous hours or more with or without the knowledge and/or consent of the owner or occupant of the property, or for a period of forty-eight (48) continuous hours or more after the consent of the owner or occupant has been revoked.

2. BLIGHTED STRUCTURE OR BUILDING means any dwelling, garage or out-building or any factory, shop, store, warehouse or any other structure or building including mobile homes, travel trailers and converted vehicles intended for use as temporary or moveable dwellings, or part of a structure or building which, because of fire, wind or other natural disaster or physical deterioration is no longer habitable as a dwelling, or useful for the purpose for which it was originally constructed or intended.

3. FARM means a business enterprise engaged in agricultural production (and otherwise known as farms, ranches, dairies, nurseries, orchards) of crops, livestock and trees, and;

a. Includes forty (40) or more acres of land in one ownership which is primarily devoted to agricultural use; or

b. Has five (5) or more acres of land in one ownership, but less than forty (40) acres devoted primarily to agricultural use, which has produced a gross annual income from agriculture of two hundred dollars ($200.00) per year or more per acre of cleared and tillable land; or

c. Has been designated by the Michigan Department of Agriculture as a specialty farm in one ownership which has produced a gross annual income from an agricultural use of two thousand dollars ($2,000.00) or more.

4. JUNK means:

a. Old scrap ferrous or non-ferrous material, trash, rubber, worn tires, cloth, paper, rubbish, refuse, litter, unused furniture, garbage;

b. Materials from demolition, waste building materials;

c. Any junked, abandoned, scrap, dismantled or wrecked (including parts of, or items held for salvaging parts) automobiles, vehicles, farm equipment, boats, trailers, mobile homes, appliances, and all other machines;

But, shall not include:

a. Items being held for a customer while parts are being sought for its repair;

b. Items that are classic or antique, kept and collected for their antique or collectible value; and

c. Items and junk kept at a licensed Type I, II, or III landfill for purpose of disposal of solid waste, incineration, recycling and resource recover.

5. JUNK AUTOMOBILE means any motor vehicle required to be licensed under the laws of the State of Michigan which is not licensed for a period in excess of sixty (60) days, except stock-in-trade of a duly licensed new or used automobile dealer, or whether

licensed or not, is inoperative for a period in excess of sixty (60) days, and is visible from roads or adjacent to the public health, safety or welfare by reason of the threat of presence of vermin or wild animals, leakage of fluids or gases, attractiveness to children, or other similar causes.

6. JUNKYARD means a business enterprise, or a part of a business enterprise, engaged wholly or in part, in the purchasing, handling, storage, resale, recycling, conversion, or recovery of junk, and is a business which is included in the Standard Industrial Classification Manual of 1972 prepared by the US Office of Management and Budget, Classification 5093 and some enterprises in Classification 5931, whether a part of a licensed landfill operation or not, but shall not include any part of a landfill as defined in the Solid Waste Management Act. Junkyard shall specifically include any business or preparation required to have a Class C license (used vehicle parts dealer) under MCL 257.248, MSA 9.1948 as amended.

7. TOWNSHIP means Springdale Township.

8. PARCEL means any tract or contiguous tracts of land in the same ownership, whether one or more platted lots or parts of lots, as identified by a single property tax parcel number in the Township assessment roll.

9. PERSON means any natural person, firm, partnership, corporation, limited liability company, or other unincorporated association of persons, and shall include all agents, servants and employees of such persons.

10. ROAD means a public or private road, highway, street, or right-of-way which affords the means of ingress or egress to abutting property and the means of travel past a parcel.

11. SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT ACT means the Michigan Solid Waste Management Act, originally enacted as 1978 P.A. 641 and now Part 115 of the Natural Resources and Environment Protection Act, MCL 3244.11501, et seq, as amended.

 

SECTION 3: UNLAWFUL ACTS

3.01 It shall be unlawful for a person to maintain or permit to be maintained any blighted structure or building.

3.02 It shall be unlawful for a person to store or accumulate junk except in the following manner:

1. So that no more than two large items of junk as herein defined, are on the parcel;

2. So that junk is consolidated on one part of the parcel;

3. So that the junk is not visible from a road or from adjacent parcels or so that the junk is inside an enclosed building; and

4. So that it is not a nuisance.

3.03 Section 30.2 of this ordinance shall not apply to farms, provided the storage of junk on a farm meets the following standards:

1. So that the junk is not visible from a road or from adjacent parcels or so that the junk is inside an enclosed building.

2. All junk from the operation of the farm is being kept on the premises for possible future use of the farm;

3. The depositing of the junk is not a violation of the Michigan Solid Waste Management Act or does not constitute frill in violation of any other state or local law; and

4. So that it is not a nuisance.

 

SECTION 4: JUNKYARDS

4.01 It shall be unlawful for any junkyard to accept business or to do business unless it is:

1. Meets all of the following conditions:

a. Has a Michigan Sales Tax license

b. If applicable to the junkyard in question, has records of sales and other transactions which are required by 1917 P.A. 350, the Second Hand Junk Dealers Act, being MCL 445.401, et seq. as amended.

c. If applicable to the junkyard in question, has a valid Class C (Used Vehicle Parts Dealer) license issued by the Michigan Department of State under MCL 257.248 as amended.

2. Is constructed, designed and operated according to all of the following standards:

a. It is screened from view of all roads and from all adjacent parcels by means of an opaque fence or earth berm not less than eight (8) feet in height, or another form of screening, or a combination of the above.

b. It is set back from parcel boundaries at least 100 feet, and is set back 100 feet from all road rights-of-way or 133 feet from the centerline of any road, whichever is greater.

c. It is designed and operated so that the noise, under normal operational circumstances, does not exceed sixty (60) decibels at the boundary of the parcel and at the nearest road.

d. It is operated so that burning or incineration of junk or any other material does not result in smoke.

e. It is designed and operated to meet or exceed all applicable state and federal air pollution, surface and ground waste quality standards, and otherwise is in compliance with all other state and federal laws intended for the protection of the environment or the protection of the public health, safety, welfare and morals.

f. It complies with 1966 P.A. 219, the Control of Junkyards Adjacent to Highways Act, being MCL 252.201 et. seq as amended.

g. No part of it is a landfill, as defined in the Solid Waste Management Act, even as an accessory function or use of the junkyard.

h. It is more than 1,000 feet from a school, campground, or park.

i. It is not otherwise adverse to the public health, safety, morals and welfare of the Township.

 

SECTION 5: PRE-EXISTING JUNKYARD

5.01 Under the enactment of this ordinance, the Township Planning Commission shall cause to be made an inventory of all junkyards presently in business in the unincorporated portions of the Township. Such inventory shall include a site plan of each junkyard, a general inventory of the nature and extent of junk, and such other information as the Township Planning Commission deems relevant.

5.02 Any junkyard in business in the Township at the time of enactment of ordinance shall be allowed to continue in business as a junkyard on the parcel of land, or portion of the parcel of land, where it is presently located and in operation, except as otherwise provided in Sections 5.03 and 5.04 of this ordinance.

5.03 A junkyard in business under Section 5.02 of this ordinance, which:

1. Ceases to operate for one year or more;

2. Enlarges so as to occupy more land than was occupied and used at the time of enactment of this ordinance, as shown on the inventory site plan made pursuant to Section 5.01 of this ordinance; or

3. Relocated to different land than was occupied and used at the time of enactment of this ordinance, as shown on the inventory site plan made pursuant to Section 5.01 of this ordinance.

Shall be required to comply with all aspects of this ordinance.

5.04 A junkyard in business in the Township at the time of enactment of this ordinance shall, by six (6) months after the effective date of this ordinance, be brought into compliance with Section 4.01.1; 4.01.2; 4.01.3 a, b, c, d, e, f, g and i.

 

SECTION 6: VIOLATIONS: MUNICIPAL CIVIL INFRACTIONS

6.01 This ordinance is enforceable by all law enforcement agencies and officers authorized to act within the Township and by the Township Enforcement Designee who are hereby designated as the authorized local officials to issue municipal civil infraction citations.

6.02 Any person who violates any provision of this ordinance shall be responsible for a municipal civil infraction and subject to penalties as follows:

a. A person found responsible for a first offense shall be fined not less than $100.00, nor more than $500.00, plus costs.

b. A person who violates this ordinance when having been previously found responsible or admitted responsibility for a violation of this ordinance in a prior municipal civil infraction proceeding, shall be fined not less than $250.00, nor more than $500.00, plus costs.

c. A person who violates this ordinance when having been found responsible or admitted responsibility on at least two prior occasions for violation of this ordinance in a municipal civil infraction proceeding shall be fined $500.00 plus costs.

6.03 Any person who violates this ordinance will be served with a citation by an authorized local official and required to appear in the 85th Judicial District Court.

6.04 In addition to the civil fines imposed pursuant to the section above for violation of the provisions of this ordinance, a person who is found to be “responsible” for a municipal civil infraction shall be responsible for the payment of costs in the action of not more than five hundred ($500.00) dollars. “Costs” as used in this section are not limited to the costs taxable in ordinary civil actions and may include all expenses, direct or indirect, to which the Township has been put in connection with the municipal civil infraction up to the entry of judgment, which expenses may include reimbursement for attorney fees incurred and/or other costs, damages, and expenses. The Township may also file a lien against the land, building or structure for unpaid fines and costs as provided by law.

6.05 Further, the Township may seek an injunctive order from the 85th District Court requiring the person in violation of this ordinance to bring his or her property into compliance with this ordinance pursuant to the equitable authority granted to District Courts under Chapter 87 of the Revised Judicature Act at MCL 600.8701 et. seq. Such an order may include the right of the Township to enter the property in order to bring the land, building or structure into compliance in the event the person in violation fails to do so, and to charge the cost of bringing the land, building or structure into compliance as a lien against the land, building or structure.

 

SECTION 7: VIOLATIONS: CIVIL ACTION

7.01 In addition to foregoing remedies and all other remedies available under the law, the Township or any other person adversely affected by a violation of this ordinance, may commence an action in the Circuit Court for Manistee County, for an injunction or other appropriate remedy to prevent, enjoin, abate, correct or remove junk or junkyards operated, permitted, accumulated, stored or maintained in violation of this ordinance or any other violation of this ordinance, and to prevent, enjoin, abate, or otherwise prohibit the continuation of such violation. The rights and remedies provided herein are cumulative and in addition to all other remedies provided by law.

 

SECTION 8: SEVERABILITY

8.01 This ordinance and the various parts, sections, sub-sections, phrases and clauses thereof are hereby declared to be severable. If any part, sentence, paragraph, section, sub-section, phrase or clause is adjudged unconstitutional or invalid, it shall not be affected thereby. The Township Board hereby declares that it would have passed this ordinance and each section sub-section, phrase, sentence and clause therefore irrespective of the fact that any one or more sections, sub-section, phrases, sentences or clauses be declared invalid.

 

SECTION 9: REPEAL

9.01 This ordinance specifically repeals Ordinance No. 2003-1 and the Springdale Township Blight and Junk Cark Ordinance of 2008. Any and all other ordinances or parts of ordinances inconsistent with, or in conflict with this ordinance are also hereby repealed to the extent they are in conflict, but only to the extent of such conflict or inconsistency.

 

SECTION 10: EFFECTIVE DATE

10.01 This ordinance shall take effect on the 30th day following its publication as required by law.

 

THOSE VOTING IN FAVOR: ALL

THOSE VOTING AGAINST: ZERO

THOSE ABSENT OR ABSTAINING: 1 ABSENT

 

CERTIFICATION

I, Clerk of the Township of Springdale, Manistee County, Michigan, do hereby certify that the above is a true and correct copy of the Springdale Township Blight and Junk Ordinance of 2015 as adopted by the Springdale Township Board at a meeting held on the 8th day of June, 2015 at which a quorum was present.

Date: 6/8/15

_________________________________________

Joan Cramer, Clerk

Springdale Township

A copy of this ordinance may be inspected at the Springdale Township website: springdaletownship.com