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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1976-010NO %%'10 AN ORDINANCE AMENDING ARTICLE I OF CHAPTER 20 OF THE CODE OF ORDIN- ANCES OF THE CITY OF DENTON, TEXAS, BY ADDING THERETO SECTIONS 20-2 THROUGH 2O-10, REQUIRING ALL AUTOMOTIVE WRECKING AND SALVAGE YARDS IN THE CITY OF DENTON TO BE COMPLETELY SURROUNDED BY A SOLID FENCE, PRESCRIBING CERTAIN SPECIFICATIONS FOR THE CONSTRUCTION AND MAIN- TENANCE THEREOF, PROHIBITING CERTAIN SPECIFICATIONS FOR THE CON- STRUCTION AND MAINTENANCE THEREOF, PROHIBITING WORK, DISPLAY OR STORAGE OUTSIDE OR ABOVE SUCH ENCLOSURE, PROVIDING A PENALTY, PRO- VIDING CERTAIN DEFINITIONS, MAKING OTHER FINDINGS AND PROVISIONS RELATIVE TO THE SUBJECT, PROVIDING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE, AND DE- CLARING AN EFFECTIVE DATE WHEREAS, the City of Denton has under its general police powers the power to enact ordinances and regulations deemed necessary for the preservation and improvement of the health, safety and welfare of its inhabitants, and WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of Denton finds that the present conditions and methods of operation of automotive wrecking and salvage yards in the City of Denton are to the material detri- ment of�the health, safety and welfare of the inhabitants of the City of Denton in at least the following respects, to -wit (a) The potential exists continually that a substantial number of fires and explosions caused by the ignition of flammable liquids from the gas tanks or engines of wrecked or junked automotive wreck- ing and salvage yards in the City of Denton, (b) Wrecked or junked automotive vehicles and the parts there- from are placed, stacked or stored upon, or so near to the public rights -of -way, maintained by the City of Denton for the safety and convenience of the traveling public, as to constitute a significant traffic hazard, (c) The present visibility and accessibility of wrecked or ,junked automotive vehicles and the parts therefrom upon and about the premises of many automotive wrecking and salvage yards increase the frequency of thefts and burglaries from such businesses, thus increasing the costs of providing adequate police protection to prevent crime and protect the lives and properties of persons to and around such business locations, (d) The open and obvious use of land in the City of Denton for the wreaking, storage, or display of wrecked or ,junked automotive vehicles and the parts, accessories or components thereof has caused a relative decline in the market value of lands in and about such business locations, thus resulting in a loss in ad valorem tax re- venue for the City of Denton, (e) The open and obvious use of land in the City of Denton for the wreaking, storage or display of wrecked or junked automotive ve- hicles or the parts therefrom has caused a relative decline in the market value of property, the use and enjoyment of property, the en- joymentiof life, and the general welfare of those inhabitants of the City ofiDenton who live near such business locations, (f) The present visibility and accessibility of wrecked auto- motive vehicles and the parts therefrom upon and about the premises of many automotive wrecking and salvage yards in the City of Denton is a ha;ard to the safety of children who are naturally attracted by such conditions, now therefore THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF DENTON, TEXAS, HEREBY ORDAINS PART I That the Code of Ordinances of the City of Denton, Texas, is hereby amended by adding new Sections 20-2 through 20-10 to Chapter 20, Article I thereof, which shall hereafter read as follows Section 20-2 FENCING OF AUTOMOTIVE WRECKING AND SALVAGE YARDS DEFINITIONS (a) The term "automotive wrecking and salvage yards" as used herein shall mean any lot or tract of land whereon three or more discarded, abandoned, junked, wrecked or worn-out automotive vehicles, including, but not limited to autos, trucks, tractor -trailers, and buses, are kept or stored for the purpose of disassembling, disman- tling, cutting up, stripping, or otherwise wrecking such automotive vehicles to extract therefrom parts, components or accessories for sale or for use in an automotive repair or rebuilding business (b) The term "solid" as used herein shall mean constructed and maintained so that the outer surface thereof is continuous and without interstices, gaps, spaces or holes This shall not be construed to prohibit any spaces or gaps left by a properly constructed and maintained chain link fence with strips or slats as hereinafter provided Section 20-3 DRAINAGE OF FLAMMABLE LIQUIDS REQUIRED Before any junked, wrecked, or abandoned vehicle shall be placed in any automotive wrecking and salvage yard, in the City of Denton, for the purpose of disassembling or dismantling, cut- ting up, stripping, or otherwise extracting parts therefrom, all fuel tank or tanks must be removed and all gasoline and other flammable liquids shall be completely drained and removed from said vehicle Section 20-4 FENCING REQUIRED Every automotive wrecking yard excluding the office area, in the City of Denton shall be surrounded by a fence as follows (a) The fence shall be high enough to screen all junk and ,junked automotive vehicles from the view of the traveled way of the public streets and highways, and shall be extended downward to with- in three (3) inches of the ground (b) It shall extend along the frontage of the automotive wrecking or salvage yard parallel to the public street or highway and perpendicular to the public street or highway along the sides of the automotive wrecking and salvage yard to a distance so that all junk and wrecked vehicles will be screened from view of the traveled way of said public street or highway Section 20-5 CHARACTERISTICS OF FENCING (a) The fence or wall shall be constructed of a permanent material such as wood, masonry, corrugated sheet metal, chain link, or any combination thereof (b) The fence must be neat in appearance and of a uniform color and height If the fence is to be painted, it shall be of a uniform color Bright, loud colors will not be acceptable (c) It is not necessary that the fence be solid If chain link fencing is used, wood or metal slats or strips must be run through all links of the chain link fence However, the open spaces must be small enough that the junk material and vehicles are substantially screened (d) The fence shall be maintained by the owner and/or operator of salvage yard Should the fence become damaged or destroyed, it must be repaired within thirty (30) days (e) All fences or walls shall be constructed in compliance with applicable provisions of the Building Code of the City of Denton Section 20-6 FENCE MAY INCLUDE SOLID WALLS AND DOORS Any part of a fence or wall required by Section 20-4 hereof may consist in whole or in part of a solid wall and door, or walls and doors of any completely enclosed building on said premises, if such wall or door meets all construction requirements hereinabove set forth Section 20-7 GATES REQUIRED Openings in the prescribed enclosure which are necessary to permit reasonable access to said automotive wrecking and salvage yards shall be equipped with a solid gate or gates, constructed and maintained in accordance with the requirements for a fence or wall hereinabove set forth Such gates shall be closed and securely locked at all times except during normal daytime business hours Section 20-8 WORK RESTRICTIONS It shall be unlawful for the owner, operator, his agents or em- ployees, to display, store, or work on any junked or wrecked automo- tive vehicle, or the parts, accessories or junk therefrom outside of or above the herein required fence or wall Section 20-9 PROPERTY SUBJECT TO INSPECTION All automotive vehicles, parts and other materials located in or on the premises of any automotive wrecking or salvage yard in the City of Denton shall be so arranged to allow reasonable access to, and in- spection of, the premises by authorized fire, health, police and building officials of the City of Denton Section 20-10 PENALTIES (1) Failure to comply with any provisions of this ordinance shall be grounds for the revocation of, or the refusal to issue or renew any license required by the owner or operator of an automotive wrecking and salvage yard pursuant to Section 20-33 et seq , or any other section or sections of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Denton Any violation of the provisions of this ordinance shall be punishable by a fine of up to $200 00 Each day of violation shall constitute a separate offense (2) The imposition of the penalties herein prescribed shall not preclude the City Attorney from instituting an appropriate action or proceeding to prevent or discontinue an unlawful operation of an auto- motive wrecking and salvage yard during the time such automotive wrecking and salvage yard is in violation of any provision of this ordinance, or to restrain, correct or abate a violation of said ordin- ance, or prevent an illegal act, conduct, business or use in or about any premises PART II (1) If any provision, section, subsection, sentence, clause or phrase of this ordinance, or the application of same to any person or set of circumstances is for any reason held to be unconstitutional, void or invalid, the validity of the remaining portions of this ordin- ance or their application to other persons or sets of circumstances shall not be affected thereby, it being the intent of the City Council in adopting this ordinance that no portion thereof or provision or regulation contained herein shall become inoperative or fail by rea- son of any unconstitutionality of any other portion hereof and all provisions of this ordinance are declared to be severable for that purpose (a) All ordinances or parts of ordinances in conflict herewith are hereby repealed to the extent of such conflict only PARTT III That this ordinance shall become effective on and after the Ist day of August 1976 and the City Secretary is hereby directed to cause the caption of this ordinance to be published twice in the Denton Record -Chronicle, the official newspaper of the City of Denton, Texas, within ten (10) days of the date of its passage and approval PASSED AND APPROVED this the 16th day of March 1976 ATTEST J , UITY rMTAFY CITY OF DENTON, TEXAS APPROVED AS TO LEGAL FORM jamr/z SeQw*�__f CITY OF DENTON, TEXAS