Iowa City Denies Salvage Yard License

The city council for Waterloo, Iowa, voted earlier this week (July 6) to deny auto salvage licenses to 10 salvage yards in the city. The vote was 6-1. There are a total of 23 salvage yards operating within the city of Waterloo.

While the city denied the license to the ten yards, 13 other yards received a license.

A planning official for the city said that while ten companies had their licenses turned down, they have 30 days to make the changes to their yards. If, after the changes are made, the yards meet the standards of the city they will then have their licenses approved.

Eric Schrager, a senior planning official for Waterloo, notes that the reason most of the yards had their licenses denied was the failure of the company to keep the scrap material within the approved storage area. The city also expressed concerns over fencing problems at several other yards.

According to local press reports, the crackdown follows several years when the city neglected to enforce some of the enforcement issues in the city.

The salvage yards that were denied licenses are the following: Chase Auto Parts, Dick's Auto Salvage, Litzkow Auto Recyclers, Northside Auto, Pat's Auto Salvage (2 of three yards denied), Pierce Used Cars, Plum's R&B, Quail's Auto Salvage, and Weekley's Auto Salvage.

Companies whose licenses were approved are the following: A-Line Iron and Metal, Alter Trading, (2 yards), B. Schultz Co., Chase Auto Parts, Jones Metals, Kevin’s Car and Truck, Pat’s Auto Salvage, Stuber Enterprises, Tournier Recycling, Vic Fuller Salvage, Waterloo Auto Parts, and Wilber Auto Body.