Richmond Municipal Code Ch. 7.28 Junkyards

The Council of the City of Richmond hereby declares that the operation of junkyards affects the public interest. Junkyards are necessary and useful enterprises that perform a vital service to the community and, in addition, are important to the economic life and welfare of the community. However, the very nature of the operations of this business has a potential to create nuisances to the public in the following manner:

(a) The improper storage and piling of materials on such premises may be fire hazards from spontaneous or accidental combustion. In addition, such piles can provide fertile breeding grounds for rats, vermin, insects and other disease spreading carriers.

(b) The operation of this business frequently generates air pollutants because of burning operations and the generation of dust.

(c) Such operations are unsightly and offensive to the senses, thereby interfering with the enjoyment of the use of nearby properties.

(d) Junkyard premises are frequent harborages for stolen property or become outlets of other adult and juvenile delinquencies.

(e) Conditions such as the above adversely affect the property values of neighboring properties, their health, safety and welfare.

Therefore, the Council of the City of Richmond declares that junkyards require regulation to protect the public interest, health, safety and welfare, the conservation of property values, and the encouragement of orderly development of the City of Richmond.

As used in this chapter the following words shall have the following meanings:

(a) "Person" means domestic and foreign corporations, associations, syndicates, joint stock companies, firms, partnerships, trusts, societies and individuals.

(b) "Junk dealer" means any person engaged in or conducting, managing or carrying on the business of collecting, distributing, buying, selling, trading, soliciting, exchanging, taking in trade, offering for sale or in any other manner dealing with junk, except for employees who work exclusively in the premises of a licensed junkyard.

(c) "Junk" means old or secondhand rope, vehicles or machinery, iron or other metals, rags, glass, fabric, cordage, wood or paper, and other waste or salvageable materials not suitable for sale for the purpose for which the same was originally fabricated, but which is salvageable for the treatment process or preparation so as to be used again in some manner, excluding, however, garbage, rubbish and refuse.

(d) "Engage in junk business" means the conducting, managing or carrying on of any phase of the junk business by any person as owner, officer, agent, employee, servant or lessee. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the soliciting, hauling, collection or the delivery alone of junk shall be, for the purpose of this chapter, determined to be engaged in the junk business regardless of the location of the headquarters or fixed place at which such business is engaged.

(e) "Sworn statement" means a written statement sworn to before the Chief of Police or any officer of the City of Richmond, or any officer authorized by law to administer oaths.

(f) "Chief of Police" means the Chief of Police of the City of Richmond or any officer of the police force of the City of Richmond to whom the Chief of Police shall have delegated the duty or power of the Chief of Police as set forth in this chapter.

(g) "Council" means the City Council of the City of Richmond.

(h) Words and phrases not specifically defined herein shall be construed according to their context and approved usage of the language.

It shall be unlawful for any junk dealer to engage in the junk business in the City of Richmond without first obtaining a permit as herein provided.

(a) Applications. Applications for permission to engage in the junk business shall be made in writing on a form provided by the Chief of Police and the Chief of Police shall furnish a routing slip to each applicant. No application shall be accepted until the applicant has first obtained from the Planning Commission the necessary conditional use permit and made application for an occupancy permit authorizing the use of the particular site for engaging in the junk business (except itinerants).

(b) Fees. Each person engaged in the junk business in the City of Richmond shall pay to the Tax Collector of the City of Richmond an initial permit fee in accordance with Chapter 7.04 of this article or any amendment or revision thereof hereafter ordained, which fee shall help defray the cost of processing the application. Said fee shall be payable at the time of filing an application for a junk dealers' permit. There shall be no prorata or refunding provisions. Such person engaged in the junk business in the City of Richmond shall also obtain a business license as required by the City of Richmond.

(c) Permits Not Transferable. Junk dealers' permits shall not be transferable.

(d) Action on Application. Promptly after the filing of such application for a junk dealer's permit and the payment of the aforementioned fee by the applicant, the Chief of Police shall make or cause to be made an investigation of the character of the applicant and report the result of his investigation to the Council. Whereupon, the Council shall grant the applicant a junk dealers' permit unless it shall appear to the Council from the report of the Chief of Police, or otherwise, that the applicant or persons interested in or associated with the business of the applicant are not fit or proper persons to engage in the junk business within the City of Richmond.

(Amended by Ordinance No. 11-03 N.S.)

(a) Piling of Junk. Scrap and salvage material shall be placed and maintained in such a manner that:

1. All operations shall be in accordance with the Health Code of the City of Richmond;

2. They will not encourage spontaneous or accidental combustion;

3. Material subject to rot or decay shall be so placed, stored, piled or maintained that no disease or pest harmful to human beings, stock or crops will exist;

4. Such material will not become a habitat for rodents, insects or other vermin or pests;

5. Flammable materials shall not be stored in any one pile over six feet in height, nor 625 square feet in floor or lot area. Aisle space shall be provided between such piles at a minimum ground clearance of six feet or whatever additional clearance is needed to prevent the spreading of a conflagration of one pile to another, or from a pile to any nearby structure such as a fence or building.

(b) Control of Burning.

1. All burning shall be done in accordance with the Fire Code of the City of Richmond and the regulations of the Bay Area Air Pollution Control District.

2. All gasoline shall be drained from the reservoirs of all automobiles or other self-propelled vehicles stored or kept on the premises, and shall be stored in approved containers or underground tanks, unless such vehicles are in such state of repair as to enable them to be removed from the premises under their own power.

3. Class 1 or 2 flammable liquids shall not be used for cleaning purposes. No flammable liquid shall remain in open receptacles except at such times as detached parts, etc., are actually being cleaned or washed; provided, however, that an approved tank or vat designed for this purpose, equipped with a tight-fitting cover which is controlled by fusible link, whereby such lid will adequately close in case of fire, may remain open during working hours.

4. All occupants shall maintain an adequate water supply with a three-fourths inch water hose of sufficient length to span the limits of the property and one ten-pound, dry chemical fire extinguisher, which has been approved by the Underwriters' Laboratory, Inc., for each 5,000 square feet of property. The extinguishers must be serviceable at all times, and located in conspicuous places, provided, however, that the Fire Marshal or his deputy may determine that other types of extinguishers or placement of extinguishers should or may be provided.

(c) Compliance With All Laws. Any person engaged in the junk business under this chapter shall comply with the laws of the State of California, the City of Richmond, or any political subdivision having jurisdiction over such operations.

(d) Access to Property. Driveways shall be maintained in such manner that access into the property may be easily traversed in the event of any emergency by vehicles responding to such an emergency and shall be of sufficient width and free of any obstructions at all times.

(e) Sanitary Facilities. Every junkyard shall be provided with adequately installed and maintained employee toilet facilities conforming with the Health and Plumbing Code regulations of the City of Richmond.

(f) Enclosure of Property. Every establishment shall be enclosed by an approved Richmond fence as established by Council resolutions and maintained in accordance with those resolutions.

(g) Keeping of Records. Each person engaged in the junk business in Richmond shall keep daily reports for the Chief of Police, which reports shall contain an accurate description of all property received by such person at the close of his said business during the preceding 24 hours, together with the date of purchase of said property, the price paid therefor, the name and address of the person from whom purchased, and a record of all of the particulars, license numbers or permanent marks of identification that shall be found on such property. Said reports shall be kept in duplicate and a copy shall be kept by the person permitted to engage in the junk business for inspection by any police officer within 60 days thereafter.

No person engaged in the junk business in the City of Richmond shall remove any junk from the City of Richmond or otherwise dispose of the same until such person shall have first made said written report referred to above. It shall be the duty of the Chief of Police to check the property listed on such reports at regular intervals and if, in his judgment, such articles have been regularly purchased from the person having authority to sell the same, he shall authorize the removal or other disposition thereof. Each person engaged in the junk business shall retain such approval for a period of 60 days after issuance thereof and for such additional time as may be required by the Chief of Police. The records referred to herein shall be kept in a building on the premises of the business.

(h) Purchase from Minors. It shall be unlawful to receive or purchase any junk from any person under the age of 21 years.

(i) Hours of Operation. It shall be unlawful to purchase or collect junk between the hours of six p.m. and six a.m. or on Sundays and holidays, except with special permission from the Chief of Police.

Every permit issued hereunder shall be subject to revocation or suspension by the City Council for violation by the holder of such permit, or by his agent or employee, of any provision or requirement of this chapter, or of any other regulation established in connection with the junk business referred to in this chapter, or any rule or regulation of the City of Richmond, or by any law of the state of California. The penalties of revocation and suspension prescribed herein shall not be a bar to or effect any other remedy or penalty prescribed herein, but shall be cumulative and in addition to such other remedy or remedies, or penalties. There shall be no refund of fees paid on revocation of permit.

(Source: Ord. No. 1712.)