Auburn city officials have denied Webster’s Trading Co.’s business license for code violations with its building at 150 Minot Ave., according to the city.

Officials sent two separate notifications of violations to the business owner in the last year over the building issues, citing it for deterioration at the front and back of the building, accumulating trash and debris at the back of the property, and modifying the building from its original plans authorized by the Planning Board in 2003 without proper approval.

City officials said the property owner must rectify all issues before the business’s license can be approved. The business has until Aug. 19 to request a hearing in front of the City Council. If the business owner does not request that hearing or if the council decides not to renew its license at a requested hearing, the business will have to close, according to the city.

Webster’s Trading owner Shawn Copeland said he plans to appeal the decision to the City Council, as allowed by city ordinance.

He bought the building from Don Webster, one of the building’s co-owners, in April 2022. If the council decides not to renew his license then he’s not sure he has the money to move the business, he said.

He said he is concerned that internal city politics is coloring the decision to deny his business license. He is also frustrated that calls by him and the building’s owners to the city, he said, have gone unanswered.

His landlords have been working on repairs to the building and fulfilling requests from the city, including bringing in an engineer to renovate the building back to its former state in 2003, he said.

In 2003, the Planning Board granted the business a special exemption to operate out of the building, formerly Jimmy’s Restaurant, contingent on certain building conditions for fire protection standards, accessibility standards, parking lot striping standards, outside storage restrictions, among others.

There are no issues with the side of the building his business is on; the majority of work that needs to be done is on the other side, Copeland said.

He’s hoping the City Council will allow him to continue to operate after members learn about planned building improvements aimed at addressing the issues.

“I’m going to appeal it and just hope that they are going to grace me with my license due to the fact that there are things going on,” he said.