§ 89 — Control of junkyards and scrap metal processing facilities

New York § 89

• Jurisdiction: New York
• Law HAY: Highway
• Art. 4: Improvement With Federal Aid

Text

§ 89. Control of junkyards and scrap metal processing facilities. 1.\nDefinitions. As used in this section:\n (a) "Interstate highway system" means that portion of the national\nsystem of interstate and defense highways located within this state, as\nofficially designated, or as may hereafter be so designated, by the\ncommissioner of transportation, and approved by the secretary of\ncommerce or the secretary of transportation of the United States\npursuant to the provisions of title twenty-three of the United States\ncode, as amended.\n (b) "Primary highway system" means that portion of connected main\nhighways, as officially designated, or as may hereafter be so\ndesignated, by the commissioner of transportation, and approved by the\nsecretary of commerce or the secretary of transportation of the United\nStates pursuant to the provisions of title twenty-three of the United\nStates code, as amended.\n (c) "Junk" means old or scrap copper, brass, rope, rags, batteries,\npaper, trash, rubber debris, waste, or junked, scrapped, ruined,\ndismantled or wrecked motor vehicles or parts thereof, iron, steel and\nother old or scrap ferrous or nonferrous material.\n (d) "Junkyard" means an establishment or place of business which is\nmaintained, operated, or used for storing, keeping, buying or selling\njunk, and shall include garbage dumps and sanitary fills.\n (e) "Scrap metal processing facility" means an establishment having\nfacilities for processing iron, steel, or nonferrous scrap and whose\nprincipal produce is scrap iron, steel or nonferrous scrap for sale for\nremelting purposes only.\n 2. The commissioner of transportation is hereby authorized and\ndirected to implement a program prior to January first, nineteen hundred\nsixty-eight, for the effective control of the establishment and\nmaintenance of junkyards and scrap metal processing facilities within\none thousand feet of the nearest edge of the right of way and visible\nfrom the main traveled way of the interstate and primary highway\nsystems. Effective control means that by January first, nineteen hundred\nsixty-eight, such junkyards and scrap metal processing facilities shall\nconform with subdivision four of this section or be screened by natural\nobjects, plantings, fences or other appropriate means so as not to be\nvisible from the main traveled way of such systems, or shall be removed\nfrom sight on or prior to July first, nineteen hundred seventy.\n 3. The commissioner of transportation is hereby authorized to\npromulgate and enforce regulations which are consistent with the\npurposes of this act and with section one hundred thirty-six of title\ntwenty-three of the United States code, any amendments made thereto and\nthe rules and regulations promulgated thereunder, in implementing such\neffective control program. Such regulations may provide standards for\nlocation, planting, construction and maintenance, including the\nmaterials used in any screening or fencing required by this section.\n 4. No person, firm or corporation shall establish, operate or maintain\na junkyard or scrap metal processing facility, any portion of which is\nwithin one thousand feet of the nearest edge of the right-of-way of any\ninterstate or primary highway, except the following:\n (a) Those which are screened by natural objects, plantings, fences or\nother appropriate means so as not to be visible from the main traveled\nway of the interstate or primary highway system, or otherwise removed\nfrom sight.\n (b) Those located within areas which are zoned for industrial use\nunder authority of state law.\n (c) Those located within unzoned industrial areas, which areas shall\nbe determined from actual land uses and defined by the regulations\npromulgated by the commissioner of transportation.\n (d) Those which are not visible from the main traveled way of the\ninterstate or primary highway system.\n 5. Any junkyard or scrap metal processing facility not conforming with\nsubdivision four of this section and lawfully in existence on October\ntwenty-second, nineteen hundred sixty-five; or lawfully along any\nhighway made a part of the interstate or primary highway systems on or\nafter October twenty-second, nineteen hundred sixty-five, and prior to\nJanuary first, nineteen hundred sixty-eight, which is within one\nthousand feet of the nearest edge of the right-of-way and visible from\nthe main traveled way of any highway on the interstate or primary\nhighway systems, shall be screened, if feasible, by the commissioner of\ntransportation at locations within the highway right-of-way or in areas\nacquired for such purposes outside the right-of-way so as not to be\nvisible from the main traveled way of such highways. The commissioner of\ntransportation may acquire such property as may be necessary for the\npurposes of this subdivision in the same manner as other property is\nacquired for state highway purposes pursuant to this chapter, except\nthat any property in the city of New York, which is deemed by the\ncommissioner of transportation and the city of New York to be necessary\nfor the purposes of this subdivision, shall be acquired by the city of\nNew York in the same manner as provided in section three hundred\nforty-nine-c of this chapter relating to the acquisition of property for\nthe state arterial system in the city of New York.\n 6. When the commissioner of transportation determines that the\ntopography of the land adjoining the highway will not permit adequate\nscreening of any junkyard or scrap metal processing facility specified\nin subdivision five of this section or the screening of such junkyard or\nscrap metal processing facility would not be economically feasible, the\ncommissioner of transportation is authorized to acquire such property,\nin the same manner as other property is acquired for state highway\npurposes pursuant to this chapter, except that any property in the city\nof New York, which is deemed by the commissioner of transportation and\nthe city of New York to be necessary for the purposes of this\nsubdivision, shall be acquired by the city of New York in the same\nmanner as provided in section three hundred forty-nine-c of this chapter\nrelating to the acquisition of property for the state arterial system in\nthe city of New York, as may be necessary to secure the relocation,\nremoval or disposal of such junkyard or scrap metal processing facility,\nand to pay for the costs of relocation, removal or disposal thereof.\nWhere additional property is acquired for the relocation of such\njunkyard, or scrap metal processing facility, the commissioner may enter\ninto a written agreement with the owner of such junkyard or scrap metal\nprocessing facility to convey such property as is deemed necessary for\nthe purposes of this subdivision to such owner on terms beneficial to\nthe state. In connection with the acquisition of property for the\npurposes of this section, the commissioner of transportation may\nacquire, in the same manner as property is acquired for state highway\npurposes pursuant to this chapter, and dispose of, in any reasonable\nmanner, all or any part or portion of the junk on such property.\n 7. Any junkyard or scrap metal processing facility established or\nmaintained in violation of this section or any rule or regulation\npromulgated pursuant thereto, is hereby declared to be, and is, a public\nnuisance and such junkyard or scrap metal processing facility may be\nabated and removed through an action at law or in equity, or a\ncombination thereof, brought by the commissioner of transportation in\nthe name of the people of the state of New York, or such junkyard or\nscrap metal processing facility may be abated and removed by the\ncommissioner of transportation giving thirty days' notice, by registered\nmail, to the owner of the property on which such junkyard or scrap metal\nprocessing facility is located to remove same and if the owner of the\nproperty fails to act within thirty days as required in the notice, the\ncommissioner of transportation or his duly authorized agent shall cause\nthe removal of such junkyard or scrap metal processing facility at the\nexpense of the owner of the property.\n 8. Nothing in this section shall be construed to abrogate or affect\nthe provisions of any statute, lawful ordinance, regulation or\nresolution which are more restrictive than the provisions of this\nsection.\n 9. The commissioner of transportation is hereby authorized to enter\ninto an agreement or agreements with the secretary of transportation of\nthe United States, as provided by title twenty-three of the United\nStates code, as amended, relating to the control of junkyards and scrap\nmetal processing facilities in areas adjacent to the interstate and\nprimary highway systems, and to take action in the name of the people of\nthe state of New York to comply with the terms of any such agreement.\n