Senate Bill No. 260
(By Senators Prezioso, Minear, Helmick, Ross and Hunter)
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[Introduced March 7, 1997; referred to the Committee
on Natural Resources.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact section four, article twenty-three,
chapter seventeen of the code of West Virginia, one thousand
nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to permitting
relicensure of an existing salvage yard upon sale or
transfer to another owner; and previously existing legal
requirements for operation continue in effect after sale or
transfer.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section four, article twenty-three, chapter seventeen
of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred
thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as
follows:
ARTICLE 23. SALVAGE YARDS.
§17-23-4. Areas where establishment prohibited; screening requirements; existing licensed yards; approval
permit required; issuance; county planning
commission criteria satisfied; fee.
(a) On and after the effective date of this article: (1) No
license shall be issued to establish a salvage yard or any part
thereof within one thousand feet of the nearest edge of the
right-of-way of any road within the state road system designated
and classified or redesignated and reclassified as expressway,
trunkline or feeder, or any road within the state road system
designated and classified or redesignated and reclassified for
purposes of allocation of federal highway funds as part of the
federal-aid interstate or primary systems:
Provided, That this
limitation
shall does not apply to landfills established and
maintained by the state or any county or municipality if
such the
landfill is effectively screened and obscured by natural objects,
plantings, fences or other appropriate means so as not to be
visible from the main traveled way of the system; (2) no license
shall be issued to establish a salvage yard or any part thereof
within five hundred feet of the nearest edge of the right-of-way
of any state local service road, unless the view thereof from
such the state local service road shall be effectively screened
and obscured by fences:
Provided, however, That this limitation
shall does not apply to landfills established and maintained by the state or any county or municipality if
such the landfill is
effectively screened and obscured by natural objects, plantings,
fences or other appropriate means so as not to be visible from
the main traveled way of the system; and (3) no license may be
issued allowing a salvage yard within one thousand feet of the
nearest occupied private residence, unless waived by the owner of
such the residence, or within five thousand feet of the nearest
occupied private residence which is part of a residential
community. The provisions of this paragraph, as amended, shall
apply only to salvage yards licensed after the first day of
April, one thousand nine hundred eighty-eight.
(b) The license of any salvage yard duly issued under the
former provisions of this article, which salvage yard or any part
thereof on the effective date of this article, is: (1) Within
one thousand feet of the nearest edge of the right-of-way of any
road within the state road system designated and classified or
redesignated and reclassified as expressway, trunkline or feeder,
or any road within the state road system designated and
classified or redesignated and reclassified for purposes of
allocation of federal highway funds as part of the federal-aid
interstate or primary systems or is; (2) within five hundred feet
of the nearest edge of the right-of-way of any state local
service road, or is; (3) within one thousand feet of the nearest occupied private residence or within five thousand feet of the
nearest occupied private residence which is part of a residential
community, may be renewed only if the view of the
said salvage
yard and all parts thereof are effectively screened from the
adjacent road by natural objects, plantings, fences or other
appropriate means or a waiver is obtained from the owner of an
occupied private residence. The provisions of this paragraph, as
amended, shall apply only to salvage yards licensed after the
first day of April, one thousand nine hundred eighty-eight.
(c) Any salvage yard which, on the effective date of this
article, is duly licensed under the former provisions of this
article may be established or continue to be operated and
maintained without screening by natural objects, plantings,
fences or other appropriate means so long as any part of
such the
salvage yard is: (1) Not located within one thousand feet of any
road within the state road system designated and classified or
redesignated and reclassified as expressway, trunkline or feeder,
or any road within the state road system designated and
classified or redesignated and reclassified for the purposes of
allocation of federal highway funds as part of the federal-aid
interstate or primary systems or is; (2) not located within five
hundred feet of the nearest edge of the right-of-way of any state
local service road; or is (3) not located within one thousand feet of the nearest residence or within five thousand feet of the
nearest occupied private residence which is part of a residential
community.
Notwithstanding any other provision of this section
to the contrary, ownership of a salvage yard duly licensed under
the former provisions of this article and continuously maintained
and licensed since the first day of July, one thousand nine
hundred eighty-eight, may be sold or otherwise transferedtransferred, and
the salvage yard is eligible for relicensure and may continue to
operate under the same legal requirements which would have been
applicable had the change in ownership not occurred.
(d) On or after the first day of July, one thousand nine
hundred eighty-four, any owner or operator establishing,
operating or maintaining a salvage yard for which a license is
required under the provisions of this article is hereby required
to first obtain an approval permit from the county planning
commission, or if the county does not have a county planning
commission, from an appropriate office or agency designated by
the county commission, in which the salvage yard is located. The
county planning commission or designated agency or office shall
promulgate
such reasonable rules including, but not limited to,
determining the effect of the proposed salvage yard on
residential, business or commercial property investment and
values, establishing a quota for the number of salvage yards in the county, and the social, economic and environmental impact on
community growth and development in utilities, health, education,
recreation, safety, welfare and convenience, if any, before
issuing
such the approval permit. These rules shall conform to
guidelines established in rules promulgated by the commissioner.
The fee for the approval permit shall be twenty-five dollars,
payable upon the filing of the application on forms to be
designated and approved by the county planning commission or
designated office or agency.
(e) Upon the granting of an approval permit by the county
planning commission, the owner or operator shall then apply to
the commissioner for a license to operate. The commissioner may
issue a license to the applicant, but only after an approval
permit has
been issued in the first instance and the location of
the salvage yard is in compliance with the location requirements
of section four of this article. The approval permit requirement
of this section does not apply to any owner or operator who has
established, or is operating or maintaining, a salvage yard prior
to the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred eighty-four.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to provide that the owner
of a salvage yard continuously licensed and in compliance with
all applicable legal requirements may sell or transfer his or her property, and that the salvage yard may be relicensed and may
continue to be operated by the new owner, and that requirements
of law for newly established salvage yards are not applicable.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that
would be added.