WHITE LAKE, NY — The Bethel town board held a public hearing about adopting a new junkyard law on July 22.

Supervisor Dan Sturm explained that the previous town board in 2006 or ‘07 adopted a local law that prohibits the creation of any new junkyards in the town, and at that time the town board removed all language from town code that related to junkyards.

Existing junkyards, however, were in fact allowed to remain in business as “pre-existing nonconforming uses,” provided they got a new permit every year from the town. The new law would put language back into the code defining what a junkyard is, and permitting existing junkyards to continue doing business as pre-existing, non-conforming uses, as has been happening on a de facto basis. Sturm stressed that the purpose of the hearing was to get input from town residents on adopting the junkyard law, and the town board was not intending to vote on adopting the law that evening.

Sturm said he believed there were “eight or nine” junkyards that had been getting a permit from the town every year.

One resident asked whether, if there were a junkyard that had existed for eight years or so, and everyone including members of the town board knew of the existence of this operation, but it had not been getting annual permits, the owner would be allowed to now successfully apply for a permit as a nonconforming use.

Sturm said he was aware of only one such situation in the town, and he said the property owner is working with the town to come into compliance, and that the board was not going to pass the law until everyone on the board was comfortable with it.

Councilmember Lillian Hendrickson said, “My opinion is that there are two [owners] that have tried to conform to everything that the town wanted… My truthful feeling is I don’t like the law because it is going to harm a lot of people in town… I don’t believe in people losing jobs….”

Sturm countered that the law had nothing to do with people losing jobs.

Councilmember Vicky Simpson reiterated that the “purpose of the public hearing is to hear from the people,” and the council was not going to vote that evening.

Former Bethel constable Ray Neuenhoff noted that the limits put on the storage of junked cars in the junkyard definition in the proposed law did not have an exemption for people who build stock cars.

The motion regarding the local law was tabled for further discussion.

In other business, the town voted to move forward with cleaning up three properties in need of attention. Two of the properties were in Smallwood and one was on Hilltop Road, in White Lake Estates on the shore of the lake.

Sturm said the home had been in disrepair for more than a year. He read a letter from the president of the homeowners’ association of the neighborhood, which said dangerous conditions had been created, “due to erosion and lack of care by the owners; the structure now not only has a great deal of animals living inside, but it is also a danger to the many curious children in the community.”

A contractor submitted a bid of $27,000 to demolish the home and also deal with the asbestos on the property. But the contractor also said she could lower the bid, which was unusual, so Sturm wanted legal advice before accepting the bid.

With regard to this property, the owner has been in touch with the town, which is often not the case. Sturm asked the board to give him permission to accept the demolition bid if the owner has not received a permit to remove the building by the next town meeting on August 12. The board unanimously assented.