Valley Voice Newspaper

Visalia - Small recycling centers such as D&D Recycling at 800 North Burke St. and Sunset Waste Paper Inc. at 1707 E. Goshen are coming under scrutiny from the City of Visalia.

Both small recycling businesses have been given cease and desist orders for what the city says are violations to their conditional use permits.

The two companies are crying foul, claiming the city is trying to close them, or at least move them out of the downtown area.

Tim Burns, city Neighborhood Preservation manager, said all the city is trying to do is make the recyclers collect only what is allowed in their permits.

“Nobody's telling them they have to leave, only to come into compliance,” he stressed.

Deborah Parmer, who owns D&D Recycling along with her husband, Lincoln Dukes, says the city is picking on them, going as far to say the city is discriminating against her and her husband because they are African-Americans.

“No business has been put through hoops like this,” said Parmer. “We're small, we're the little guys,” she added. Dukes added, “It's OK for them to own the Radisson Hotel, but I can't own this little junk yard.” He said he thinks the city just wants to get rid of businesses like theirs where the city has plans for the East Downtown Civic Center.

Burns says part of the reason for the enforcement of the conditional use permits is the prevalence of metal thefts in recent months, although he said neither D&D or Sunset have ever been accused of accepting stolen materials.

However, Burns says the agreement with the city limits both recyclers to accepting only CRV (California Refund Value) products, such as aluminum cans, bottles and plastics. He says both are accepting metals beyond the CRV items, such as wiring, old stoves, etc.

Dukes says he is a “junker” and that is how he makes his living. His wife said the CRV items make up about 25 percent of their business and without the other materials, they couldn't stay in business.

Victor Guzman, operations manager for Sunset, said they have turned over the city's order to their corporate attorney and that they feel they are legal to accept items beyond CRV. He said they have been in business – collecting reusable materials – for 30 years.

Darlene Mata, a consultant who has been assisting D&D, said she does not understand why the city appears to be changing the rules now. D&D was shut down in December and is operating on a limited permit that only allows it to accept CRV items. She says the zoning for the area D&D is located allows for it to accept any “reusable item,” not just CRV items.

“The municipal code doesn't say only CRV recycling. It does say only things that can be reused and that includes metals,” she said, citing the city definition:

“Recyclable material means reusable material including, but not limited to, metals, glass, plastic and paper, which are intended for reuse, remanufacture or reconstitution for the purpose of using the altered form. Recyclable material does not include refuse or hazardous materials.”

The city needs to make the decision to change the code, she added.

However, Burns said it is not a zoning matter, but the permit under which the companies agreed to and the enforcement is something he has been proposing the city do for some time. He admitted a recycling company that was found to be accepting stolen metals was the impetus that started the enforcement.

He and City Attorney Matthew Bahr said that to accept things more commonly found in junk yards – old appliances, etc. – the businesses should be located in an industrial zone, not a commercial zone. Bahr wrote a letter to D&D stating its appeal of the cease and desist order was not appealable because it violated conditions of the permit. Mata claims the business should have the right to appeal to its situation to the planning commission or city council.

Bahr said the city was looking at all recyclers and that all would be treated the same. “To accept metals, that's more like salvage and junkyard. They need to be moved into an industrial zone,” said Bahr.

Mata disagrees, saying the city code does allow such operations in a commercial zone. The city's changing the rules in mid-stream. Only people that can do that are the city council, not city staff,” she said.

Mata has written several letters to the city and when the planning commission looked at D&D's permit, it did agree to let the business reopen, but only to accept CRV items.

Dukes says the business offers a service in that it collects items people find in alleys, in parks and that would otherwise clutter property. Burns agreed, but said unfortunately stolen materials also are taken to such facilities and the city wants to get a handle on that.

Mata would like to see the city council take up the issue, but Bahr said it is really a code enforcement issue and not something for the council. Burns that while there is not a lot of room for compromise, the companies can remain open if they comply with their agreements.

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