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<section article="glg" article_name="Local Government" number="5-103" title_number="5" title_name="Powers" subtitle_number="1" subtitle_name="In General">
  <level label="a">
    <text>In this section, “junkyard” means:</text>
    <level label="1">
      <text>a public or private dump;</text>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>an automobile junkyard;</text>
    </level>
    <level label="3">
      <text>an automotive dismantler or recycler facility;</text>
    </level>
    <level label="4">
      <text>a scrap metal processing facility;</text>
    </level>
    <level label="5">
      <text>an outdoor place where old motor vehicles are stored in quantity or dismantled; or</text>
    </level>
    <level label="6">
      <text>a lot on which refuse, trash, or junk is deposited.</text>
    </level>
  </level>
  <level label="b">
    <text>An ordinance adopted under this section does not apply to a business licensed on or before June 30, 2004, as an automotive dismantler and recycler or a scrap processor under § 15–502 of the Transportation Article.</text>
  </level>
  <level label="c">
    <text>By ordinance, the legislative body of a municipality may regulate the location and operation of junkyards in the municipality to:</text>
    <level label="1">
      <text>protect the residents of the municipality from unpleasant and unwholesome conditions and deteriorating neighborhoods;</text>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>preserve the beauty and aesthetic value of rural or residential areas;</text>
    </level>
    <level label="3">
      <text>safeguard the public health and welfare;</text>
    </level>
    <level label="4">
      <text>promote good civic design; and</text>
    </level>
    <level label="5">
      <text>promote the health, safety, morals, order, convenience, and prosperity of the community.</text>
    </level>
  </level>
  <level label="d">
    <text>The ordinance may:</text>
    <level label="1">
      <text>require that each person who operates or maintains a junkyard obtain an annual license; and</text>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>provide for a reasonable fee for a license.</text>
    </level>
  </level>
  <level label="e">
    <level label="1">
      <text>Before adopting an ordinance under subsection (c) of this section, the legislative body of the municipality shall hold a public hearing.</text>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>An ordinance adopted in violation of this subsection is void.</text>
    </level>
  </level>
  <level label="f">
    <text>The legislative body of the municipality shall publish notice of the date, time, and place of the public hearing in a newspaper of general circulation in the municipality not less than four times, at weekly intervals, within a period of at least 30 days before the date of the hearing.</text>
  </level>
  <level label="g">
    <level label="1">
      <text>A person who violates an ordinance adopted under this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and on conviction is subject to a fine of not less than $25.</text>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>Each day that a violation continues is a separate offense.</text>
    </level>
  </level>
  <level label="h">
    <text>The legislative body of the municipality may declare a violation of an ordinance adopted under this section to be a municipal infraction under Title 6, Subtitle 1 of this article.</text>
  </level>
</section>
