The South Bend Common Council on Wednesday approved Resolution 25-27, authorizing a 2025 scrap metal/junk dealer recycling license for Alternative 2 LLC at 700 West Chippewa Avenue.

Michelle Adams of the Department of Community Investment told the council the renewal application had been routed to the police department, fire inspection bureau, Neighborhood Resources and the Zoning Department and that the property “received favorable recommendations regarding fire code and environmental compliance” and for maintenance of the premises, including the fence. Adams said the South Bend Police Department found the applicant and property compliant and that city staff had checked environmental records through state and federal systems.

The license was approved after councilors asked follow-up questions about corporate status, prior dissolutions and reporting requirements. Adams said the company had been administratively restored with the Indiana secretary of state and that the department would verify entity status for future applicants. “They are considered as non-reporting because they do not purchase from the public,” Adams said, explaining why the company is not required to report purchases through the police department’s LEADS system.

Council discussion also noted that Adams’s office would verify environmental compliance through the Indiana Department of Environmental Management’s virtual file cabinet and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency records; Adams said Alternative 2 did not have active violations. Adams told the council her records go back 16 years for Alternative 2 and indicated the business had operated longer than that on file.

No members of the public spoke for or against the resolution during the public hearing portion. The council voted to approve Resolution 25-27; the clerk recorded the final tally as nine ayes.

Details the council recorded include the business address (700 West Chippewa Avenue), the city code citation read into the record (section 4-5-1 of the South Bend Municipal Code, as read by the clerk), the departments that reviewed the application (police, fire inspection bureau, Neighborhood Resources, and Zoning), and staff commitments to verify entity status for future renewals. Council members also requested that staff follow up on other applicants with inactive state filings.

The resolution’s approval means the city will issue the 2025 scrap metal/junk dealer recycling license to Alternative 2 LLC; no amendments to the ordinance or new enforcement action were adopted at the meeting.