(a) No person shall operate a slaughterhouse in the county without a license therefor issued by the department. Each license shall be valid for the period of one (1) year from the date of issuance and may be renewed for a like period. The license fee shall be fifty dollars ($50.00) per year, such fee being intended to cover the cost of administration and enforcement of this chapter.
(b) No slaughterhouse license shall be issued or renewed hereunder in violation of the provisions of chapter 59 of this Code. Nor shall any such license be issued or renewed unless all buildings and pens used and to be used in connection with the slaughterhouse are set back a minimum of sixty (60) feet from the nearest property line and a minimum of sixty (60) feet from any public road; provided, that this restriction shall not apply to slaughterhouses in operation on November 25, 1954. Nor shall any such license be issued or renewed unless and until the department shall have received a certificate, signed by the director, stating that the slaughterhouse is in compliance with the health standards and regulations hereinafter set forth; except, that establishments in existence on November 25, 1954, are only required to substantially comply with sections 46-8 and 46-9, but such establishments shall fully comply with all other provisions of this chapter. No slaughterhouse which is in contravention of the requirements of this chapter shall be reestablished except in compliance with this chapter, if it is abandoned or if it is destroyed or seriously damaged by fire, flood or similar cause. A slaughterhouse shall be deemed to be "abandoned" if it shall cease operations for a period of eight (8) months or more, and a slaughterhouse shall be deemed to be "seriously damaged" if the value of its buildings is diminished by fifty (50) percent or more. (Mont. Co. Code 1965, § 101-3; 1972 L.M.C., ch. 16, § 13; 1980 L.M.C., ch. 38, § 1.)
Editor’s note-Section 46-3 [formerly §101-3] is cited in Marathon Builders, Inc. v. Polinger, 263 Md. 410, 283 A.2d 617 (1971).