OTISFIELD – Selectmen plan to crack down on unlicensed junkyards this summer. At the same time, Code Enforcement Officer Rodney Smith will ensure that the town’s three licensed junkyards are in compliance with Maine laws regulating junkyards and automobile graveyards.
Selectman Mark Cyr said at a selectmen’s workshop Wednesday that the board began this process last April. He had received calls about junkyards on Gore, Powhattan and Moose Pond roads. Smith visited the sites at that time and progress was made toward cleaning them up.
“We initiated the action as a group,” Cyr said. “I think there’s been some misinformation out there.”
Resident Gordon Chamberlain, who has frequently spoken to selectmen about the issue, said he had presented selectmen with photos of unlicensed junkyards at the March 17 meeting last year.
“We’ve got to be more aggressive” on the issue, Cyr said. “It hurts other people’s property value and it can contaminate the waters and the lakes.”
The town will send a letter to all residents informing them that junkyard laws will be enforced. Owners of licensed junkyards that are not compliant with state laws will have 90 days to begin cleanup and 180 to finish the work. Any resident with an unlicensed junkyard must either remove the junk from their property or bring the yard into compliance with junkyard laws and apply for a permit.
Selectmen plan to ask Smith to visit the town’s licensed junkyards and determine what needs to be done to bring each into compliance with state laws. They will ask him to survey the entire town for unlicensed junkyards by Aug. 15, beginning with properties on main roads.
The board noted that Smith has a legal right to enter any property with a junkyard, whether it is licensed or not. They will, however, recommend that he speak with the landowner before doing so. The code enforcement officer does not have the legal right to enter a building without the owner’s permission.
The state defines an automobile graveyard as a yard “used to store three or more unserviceable, discarded, worn-out, or junked” vehicles. A junkyard is defined as a yard which is used to store a wide range of items, including discarded plumbing, appliances, furniture, lumber and batteries.
Automobile graveyards and junkyards may not be within 300 feet of a school, church, or cemetery. They must be farther than 1,000 feet from an interstate highway and 600 feet from any other highway, unless they are completely screened from view. No permits may be granted for yards within 100 feet of a road.
Selectmen will meet with Smith at their next meeting.
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