For the purpose of this chapter, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
AUTOMOBILE GRAVEYARD. Any tract of land, establishment or place of business which is maintained, used or operated for storing, keeping, buying or selling wrecked, scrapped, ruined, or dismantled motor vehicles or motor vehicle parts for profit and shall include any tract of land, establishment or place of business upon which more than six such motor vehicles which cannot be operated under their own power, are not being restored to operable condition, and which are kept or stored for profit for a period of 90 days or more.
COMPLIANCE OFFICER. The County Manager or his designee.
ESTABLISHMENT. Any place, land, building or structure on which or in which there is operated or maintained a business or going concern.
GARAGE. Any establishment or place of business which is maintained and operated for the primary purpose of making mechanical and/or body repairs to motor vehicles. and which may store as many as six motor vehicles that are not capable of being driven under their own power and are not being restored to operable condition, regardless of the length of time that individual motor vehicles are stored or kept at such property. If the garage is listed as a business in the Tax Assessor’s Office by January 31 of each year and consists of two acres, six additional motor vehicles as described herein may be allowed.
HEALTH, NUISANCE OR SAFETY HAZARDS. A motor vehicle, new or used machinery, or other new or used materials may be declared a health nuisance or safety hazard when it is found to be:
(1) A breeding ground or harbor for mosquitoes or other insects, snakes, rats, or other pests; or
(2) A point of collection for pools or ponds of water; or
(3) An unsafe concentration of gasoline, oil or other flammable or explosive material; or
(4) So located that there is a danger of the vehicle falling or turning over without assistance; or
(5) A source of danger for children through entrapment in areas of confinement that cannot be opened from the inside; the overturning of heavy items; or
(6) An unsafe concentration of car radiators, batteries, or other materials that pose either a hazard of immediate or long-term environmental degradation.
JUNK. Old or scrapped copper, brass, rope, rags, batteries, paper, trash, rubber, debris, waste, refrigerators, stoves, household and commercial appliances or fixtures, indoor furniture, scrapped building materials, discarded machinery, junked motor vehicles, or parts thereof; iron and steel and other scrap ferrous or non-ferrous material and plastics.
JUNKED MOTOR VEHICLE. A vehicle that does not display a current license plate and that:
(1) Is partially dismantled or wrecked; or
(2) Cannot be self-propelled or moved in the manner in which it originally was intended to move; or
(3) Is more than five years old and appears to be worth less than $100.
JUNKYARD. Any place which is maintained, operated, or used for a period of 90 days or more for storing, keeping, buying or selling junk, or for maintenance or operation of an automobile graveyard. A junkyard shall be presumed to have been created when an area of 600 square feet or more of junk are kept or stored at any given place whether for profit or not. Materials enclosed in closed buildings, solid waste containers or rolling stock (i.e., rail cars, trailer, or other containerized body not intended or designed to be self propelled) are excluded.
JUNKYARD CONTROL ACT. G.S. §§ 136-141 through 155 (Article 12), which delegate to the North Carolina Department of Transportation the responsibility to regulate “junkyards” and “automobile graveyards” located on interstate and federal-aid primary system highways.
MOTOR VEHICLE. Any vehicle or machine designed or intended to travel over land by self propulsion or while attached to any self-propelled vehicle.
NEW JUNKYARD. Junkyards established after the effective date of this chapter or existing junkyards which do not register within the specified time limit in order to meet the designation of pre-existing.
OPAQUE. A substance that cannot be seen through when viewed perpendicularly at the same elevation.
PRE-EXISTING JUNKYARD. Junkyards in existence at the time of effective date of this chapter which register within the specified time.
PUBLIC ROAD. Any road or highway which is now or hereafter designated and maintained by the North Carolina Department of Transportation as part of the State Highway System.
RECYCLING CENTER. A temporary or permanent site at which glass, aluminum cans, paper, plastic, clothes or similar materials commonly collected for recycling are collected and moved off site or kept on site in buildings, storage bins, solid waste containers, truck trailers and other rolling stock.
RESIDENCE. A house, mobile home, an apartment, a group of homes, or a single room occupied or intended for occupancy as separate living quarters for one or more humans.
SCHOOL. Any public or private institution for the teaching of children under 18 years of age which is recognized and approved by the North Carolina Board of Education or other appropriate licensing boards.
SERVICE STATION. Any establishment which is maintained and operated for the purpose of making retail sales of fuels, lubricants, air, water and other items for the operation and routine maintenance of motor vehicles, and/or for making mechanical repairs, servicing and/or washing of motor vehicles and which is used to store not more than six motor vehicles that are not capable of being restored to operable conditions regardless of the length of time that individual motor vehicles are stored, or kept at such property. If the service station is listed as a business in the Tax Assessor’s Office by January 31 of each year and consists of two acres, six additional motor vehicles as described herein may be allowed.
VEGETATION. All season or evergreen vegetation shall mean evergreen trees with leaves or foliage at all seasons of the year and shall include, but not be limited to, white pine, southern pine, hemlock and spruce trees.
UNZONED AREA. An area where there is no zoning in effect.
VECTORS. An organism that carries disease-causing micro-organisms from one host to another (e.g., rats, mosquitoes, etc.).
VISIBLE. Capable of being seen without visual aid by a person of normal visual acuity.
(Ord. passed 6-21-04)