For the purpose of this subchapter, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
AUTOMOBILE GRAVEYARD. Any 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 and shall include any establishment or place of business upon which five or more unlicensed, used motor vehicles which cannot be operated under their own power, are not being restored to operable condition or are kept or stored for a period of 15 days or more.
FARM. Singularly or jointly owned land parcel or contiguous parcels on which agricultural operations are conducted as the primary use. Agricultural operations include, but are not limited to, cultivation of crops, the husbandry of livestock, and forestry.
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 five motor vehicles that are not capable of being driven under their own power and are not being restored to operable condition, regardless of length of time that individual motor vehicles are stored or kept at the property.
HEALTH or SAFETY NUISANCE. A motor vehicle, used machinery, or other 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;
(2) A point of collection for pools or ponds of water;
(3) A point of concentration of gasoline, oil, or other flammable or explosive materials;
(4) So located that there is a danger of the vehicle falling or turning over;
(5) A source of danger for children through entrapment in areas of confinement that cannot be opened from the inside or from exposed surfaces of metal, glass, or other rigid material; and/or
(6) A point of concentration of car radiators, batteries, or other materials that pose either immediate or long-term environmental degradation.
JUNK. Old or scrap copper, brass, rope, rags, batteries, paper, trash, rubber, refrigerators, stoves, household appliances, salvaged building materials, salvaged machinery parts, dismantled or wrecked automobiles, or parts thereof, iron and steel and other scrap ferrous or non-ferrous material.
JUNKED MOTOR VEHICLES. A vehicle that does not display a current license plate and that:
(1) Is partially dismantled or wrecked;
(2) Cannot be self-propelled or moved in the manner in which it originally was intended to move; or
(3) Is more that five years old and appears to be worth less than $100.
JUNKYARD. Any establishment, commercial or noncommercial, place of business, or place which is maintained, operated, or used for storing, keeping, buying, or selling junk or for maintenance or operation of an automobile graveyard. An establishment or place of business which stores or keeps for a period of 15 days or more materials within the meaning of "junk" as defined in this subchapter which had been derived or created as a result of industrial or commercial activity shall be deemed to be a junkyard within the meaning of this subchapter. A JUNKYARD is created when 600 square feet or more of "junk materials" are kept on a site. Materials enclosed in closed buildings, solid waste containers, or rolling stock are excluded.
JUNKYARD CONTROL ACT. G.S. §§ 136-141 through 136-155 which delegate to the State Department of Transportation the responsibility to regulate "junkyards" and "automobile graveyards" located on interstate and federal-aid primary system highways.
MOTOR VEHICLE. Any machine designed or intended to travel over land by self-propulsion or while attached to any self-propelled vehicle.
PRIMARY ROADS or PRIMARY SYSTEMS. The portion of connected highways as more officially designated or as may hereafter be so designated as PRIMARY ROADS or PRIMARY SYSTEMS by the State Department of Transportation or other appropriate authority.
PUBLIC ROAD. Any road or highway which is now or hereafter designated and maintained by the State 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, to 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, 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 State Board of Education or other appropriate licensing board.
SECONDARY ROADS. All roads, paved or unpaved, accepted for maintenance by the State Department of Transportation, other than "interstate systems" and "primary system."
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 five motor vehicles that are not capable of being driven under their own power and are not being restored to operable conditions, regardless of the length of time that individual motor vehicles are stored or kept at the property.
UNZONED AREA. An area where no zoning is in effect.
VECTORS. Any organism that carries disease-causing microorganisms from one host to another (e.g., rats, mosquitoes, and the like).
VISIBLE. Capable of being seen without visual aid by a person of normal acuity.
(Ord. passed 1-8-1990; Ord. passed 6-6-2014)