Some clouds this evening will give way to mainly clear skies overnight. Low near 65F. Winds light and variable..

Some clouds this evening will give way to mainly clear skies overnight. Low near 65F. Winds light and variable.

Piles of metal can be seen at Scrap Mart Metals Recycling in Valley Park on Thursday, Sept. 8, 2022. The city of Valley Park is asking a judge to stop the business from operating. Attorneys for Scrap Mart Metals Recycling say the city is engaging in harassment and violating its owner’s constitutional rights.

Piles of metal can be seen at Scrap Mart Metals Recycling in Valley Park on Thursday, Sept. 8, 2022. The city of Valley Park has given the business 165 citations from in recent years for violating zoning rules and nuisance ordinances. Now, the city is asking a judge to step in and stop them from operating. Attorneys for Scrap Mart Metals Recycling say the city is engaging in harassment and violating its owner's constitutional rights. Photo by David Carson, dcarson@post-dispatch.com

Piles of metal can be seen at Scrap Mart Metals Recycling in Valley Park on Thursday, Sept. 8, 2022. The city of Valley Park is asking a judge to stop the business from operating. Attorneys for Scrap Mart Metals Recycling say the city is engaging in harassment and violating its owner’s constitutional rights.

VALLEY PARK — Wrecked cars, rebar and rusted metal parts have piled up for years at a metal recycling business along Interstate 44 in west St. Louis County.

The city where it’s located, Valley Park, says it’s an eyesore and a nuisance. The business, Scrap Mart LLC, says it’s a thriving company with a right to be there.

Now the fight is headed to court — again.

Valley Park asked a judge last week to rule that Scrap Mart and its associated businesses are operating without a license, violating zoning rules and constituting a public nuisance. The city has cited the company roughly 165 times in recent years and claims in the lawsuit that the company has done nothing to correct the citations.

“If it’s not on fire, it’s looking like it’s going to tip over,” said city attorney Tim Engelmeyer. “It’s a mess.”

But Scrap Mart and its owner, Lucas D. Kendall, say the city is the real problem. They accused Valley Park in a separate lawsuit, filed last year, of illegally refusing to renew the company’s business license and harassing them with repeated citations.

“Valley Park is acutely aware of Scrap Mart’s constitutional rights, including the right to operate its business, but purposefully continues to trample those rights,” Kendall’s attorneys said in a statement Thursday. “Scrap Mart looks forward to vigorously defending itself.”

Piles of metal can be seen at Scrap Mart Metals Recycling in Valley Park on Thursday, Sept. 8, 2022. The city of Valley Park has given the business 165 citations from in recent years for violating zoning rules and nuisance ordinances. Now, the city is asking a judge to step in and stop them from operating. Attorneys for Scrap Mart Metals Recycling say the city is engaging in harassment and violating its owner's constitutional rights. Photo by David Carson, dcarson@post-dispatch.com

The metal recycling plant opened in 2011 at 145 and 165 North Outer Road in Valley Park in a stretch now occupied by industrial businesses, including a tire shop and lumber company.

In 2013, the city adopted a new zoning code that classified Scrap Mart’s property as light industrial zoning, which would not permit a metal recycling facility. The business argued that rule wouldn’t apply because it started operating before the new rules were enacted. The city said even the old zoning rules wouldn’t have permitted it.

There are other, ongoing disputes, too. Since 2012, scrap at or near the facility has caught fire at least seven times, according to the city’s lawsuit. Valley Park has also cited the business for operating an unlicensed dump and accumulating debris, trash or garbage.

Still, the city renewed Scrap Mart’s business license without an issue until 2021, when it delivered a letter stating the company was not in compliance with zoning rules, according to the business’ lawsuit. Scrap Mart said it wasn’t allowed to contest the denial.

The company and Kendall sued in November, accusing the city of illegally denying the license and issuing citations as part of an effort to kick Scrap Mart off the land and attract a more desirable developer.

“Defendant’s actions ... are intentionally designed to harass, intimidate and expel plaintiffs from city limits,” the lawsuit said.

But Engelmeyer, the city’s attorney, said Valley Park simply wanted to enforce citations that could typically be disposed of with a $1,000 fine.

“What we have in the middle of the city is this junkyard that shouldn’t be operating,” he said.

A hearing has not been set in the city’s lawsuit. The company’s 2021 suit is ongoing.

Katie Kull • 314-340-8087

Originally published on stltoday.com, part of the TownNews Content Exchange.

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