AS Title 19, Chapter 27: Junk Yards

Chapter 27. Junk Yards. Sec. 19.27.010. Purpose. For the purpose of promoting the public safety, health, welfare, convenience, and enjoyment of public travel, to protect the public investment in public highways and other roads maintained by the state, and to preserve and enhance the scenic beauty of land bordering public highways and other roads maintained by the state, it is declared to be in the public interest to regulate and restrict junk yards in areas adjacent to the interstate, primary, and secondary systems within this state and other roads maintained by the state. The legislature finds and declares that junk yards that do not conform to the requirements of this chapter are public nuisances. Sec. 19.27.020. Limitations of junk yards. A person may not establish, operate, or maintain a junk yard, any portion of which is within 1,000 feet of the nearest edge of the right-of-way of any interstate, primary or secondary highway or other road maintained by the state, except the following: (1) those which are screened by natural objects, plantings, fences, or other appropriate means so as not to be visible from the main-traveled way of the interstate and primary systems or other roads maintained by the state, or otherwise removed from sight; (2) those located within areas which are zoned for industrial use under authority of law; (3) those located within unzoned industrial areas, which areas shall be determined from actual land uses and defined by regulations to be adopted by the department. Sec. 19.27.030. Junk yards lawfully in existence. (a) A junk yard lawfully in existence on August 6, 1968, that is within 1,000 feet of the nearest edge of the right-of-way and visible from the main-traveled way of any highway on the interstate or primary system shall be screened, if feasible, so as not to be visible from the main-traveled way of the highways. (b) A junk yard lawfully in existence on July 1, 1970, that is within 1,000 feet of the nearest edge of the right-of-way and visible from the main-traveled way of any highway on the secondary system, or a junk yard lawfully in existence on September 14, 1976, that is within 1,000 feet of the nearest edge of the right-of-way and visible from the main-traveled way of a road maintained by the state, shall be screened, if feasible, so as not to be visible from the main-traveled way of the highway. Sec. 19.27.035. Screening by department; lien. (a) If the owner or operator of a junk yard does not screen the yard under AS 19.27.030 , and the department has not determined that screening would be unfeasible, the department may screen the yard. The owner or operator shall reimburse the department for the costs of the labor and materials necessary for the screening. (b) The state has a lien for the costs referred to in (a) of this section on the junk and the land on which the junk yard is located, after recording a claim of lien in the office of the recorder for the district in which the property is located. Sec. 19.27.040. Regulations concerning screening and fencing. The department may adopt regulations governing the location, planting, construction, and maintenance, including the materials used in the screening or fencing required by this chapter. Sec. 19.27.050. Authority to acquire property interests for removal or screening of junk yards. When the department determines that the topography of the land adjoining the highway or the road maintained by the state will not permit adequate screening of those junk yards lawfully in existence as provided in AS 19.27.030 or the screening of the junk yards would not be economically feasible, the department may acquire by gift, purchase, exchange, or condemnation, property interests necessary to secure the removal of the junk yards, and the department shall pay just compensation to the owner for the property. When the department determines that it is in the best interests of the state, it may acquire land, or interests in land, necessary to provide adequate screening of junk yards. Sec. 19.27.060. Violating junk yard a nuisance. A junk yard that is in violation of a provision of this title, or a regulation adopted under this title, is a public nuisance. Sec. 19.27.070. Junk yards in existence on date of enactment. [Repealed, § 22 ch 94 SLA 1980.] Sec. 19.27.080. Injunction. At the request of the department the attorney general may institute a civil action in superior court to abate a junk yard that is a nuisance as defined in this chapter. In the proceedings the court shall determine whether the junk yard is a nuisance as defined in this chapter and shall enter judgments or decrees it considers necessary to abate the nuisance. A civil action under this section shall be brought in the superior court in the judicial district in which the junk yard is located. Sec. 19.27.090. Interpretation. This chapter may not be construed to abrogate or affect the provisions of any law, ordinance, regulation, or resolution that is more restrictive than the provisions of this chapter. Sec. 19.27.100. Agreements with the United States. The department may enter into agreements in conformity with this title with the United States Secretary of Transportation as provided by 23 U.S.C., relating to the control of junk yards in areas adjacent to the interstate and primary systems, and take action in the name of the state to comply with the terms of the agreements. Sec. 19.27.110. Definitions. In this chapter, (1) “automobile graveyard” means an establishment or place of business which is maintained, used, or operated primarily for storing, keeping, buying, or selling wrecked, scrapped, ruined, or dismantled motor vehicles or motor vehicle parts; (2) “interstate system” means that portion of the National System of Interstate and Defense Highways located in this state, as officially designated, or as may hereafter be so designated, by the commissioner and approved by the United States Secretary of Transportation (or by the United States Secretary of Commerce before the effective date of the transfer of functions under Public Law 89-670 [80 Stat. 931]), under the provisions of 23 U.S.C; (3) “junk” means used or scrap rope, rags, batteries, paper, trash, rubber, debris or waste, junked, dismantled, or wrecked automobiles, or parts thereof, or used or scrap iron, steel, copper, brass, and other ferrous or nonferrous metals; (4) “junk yard” means an establishment or place of business, private or public, which is maintained, operated, or used primarily for storing, keeping, buying, or selling junk, or for the maintenance or operation of an automobile graveyard, and the term includes garbage dumps and sanitary fills; (5) “primary system” or “secondary system” means that portion of connected main highways, as officially designated, or as may hereafter be so designated, by the commissioner, and approved by the United States Secretary of Transportation (or by the United States Secretary of Commerce before the effective date of the transfer of functions under Public Law 89-670 [80 Stat. 931]), under the provisions of 23 U.S.C. Sec. 19.27.120. Penalty for violation. A person who violates this chapter, or a regulation adopted under it, is guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction is punishable by a fine of not less than $50 nor more than $1,000. Sec. 19.27.130. Additional requirements. The requirements imposed by this chapter relative to junk yards are in addition to the requirements of AS 08.60.050 — 08.60.100. Sec. 19.27.140. Short title. This chapter may be cited as the Junk Yard Control Act.