Auburn is looking to clear up discrepancies with a local automobile scrap yard and towing company’s business license.

The scrap yard at 940 Washington St. is completely in a flood zone. Vehicles are stored close to the Little Androscoggin River, which wraps around three sides of the property.

It’s home to Don’s No Preference Towing and Morris Auto Parts. An auto repair shop and a used vehicle sales lot are also on the site.

Though the city has regulations that would bar similar businesses from operating on a similar property, the business there is “grandfathered” and licensed under nonconforming land use provisions.

It has, and continues to, operate legally under city oversight. But when the business went to renew its state license this year, Auburn Director of Planning and Permitting DeCarlo Brown looked into the business’ local license and found some issues that he believes the council needs to consider.

He found no site plan approval or documentation outlining significant aspects of use for the site, which is required by local land use regulations, he said. Though that’s not uncommon with “grandfathered” properties, he also couldn’t find details about what is considered a legal nonconforming use for the property.

This missing documentation makes it difficult to understand the conditions of the business license for the property, he said.

In order for the business to be licensed through the state, it must meet all local and state regulations, and the city is responsible for inspecting the site and ensuring compliance with both governing bodies, Brown explained to councilors at their Monday night meeting.

The documentation issues on the city side need to be cleared up before the city can determine if the site meets all state standards, he said. The site’s local license will be up for renewal next month.

Owner Bryan McLean took over operations of the business about nine years ago from his grandfather, who opened it in 1938, he said.

Since then the business has been cleaning up the streets of Lewiston and Auburn, picking up abandoned and old vehicles from city streets.

Though the city considers their business scrap, they actually recycle the vehicles they bring in. The vehicles are drained of fluids before being stored on the property and used for parts. As new inventory comes in, old is taken out and crushed elsewhere, he said.

The city drafted a new list of compliances a couple of years ago and since then McLean has worked to bring the property into compliance and implement improvements, such as the vegetative buffer between the old vehicles and the river.

City inspectors visited the site last week and didn’t find any violations, he said. He thinks that because Brown wasn’t involved in licensing in previous years, having just been hired last spring, the current wording is confusing to him.

The business has increased its auto salvage operations in recent years but those operations have stayed within the same geographical footprint on the site, Brown said. 

Though the current uses on the site are “grandfathered” the business must still adhere to operational standards, such as stormwater standards, Clean Water Act standards, floodplain standards and other land use standards, Brown said.

When the city inspects the site, it must ensure that those standards are being met so it doesn’t get in trouble with the Maine Department of Environmental Protection or other state agencies, he said.

McLean isn’t in trouble and is working with the city, Brown said. The errors need to be rectified by the city and the council must decide if it wants to allow the business to expand its operations, implement more limitations or take some other action.

Articles of incorporation for the business filed through the state appear to go back as far as 1979, according to the state’s interactive corporate services search.

Its license currently allows for recycling, along with other uses but those other uses are not defined, Brown said.

The license needs to more accurately reflect all operations happening at that site, along with a plan that delineates where each use can occur on the site, Brown said. He also wants the council to officially determine which of the current site’s uses are legally nonconforming and if they can increase.

The city also needs to change who inspects the business, he said. Only a code enforcement officer can inspect the site per state law, but the city currently requires the director of planning and permitting to do that, another discrepancy that needs to be changed.

In the meantime, the city can allow the business to continue to operate, Brown explained.

Though things might seem uncertain, McLean expects that the city will be satisfied with the work he’s put into the site and that his licenses will be renewed.