PROVIDENCE — The city’s lawsuit that could change the way Rhode Island Recycled Metals does business stands still as South Providence residents grow frustrated that the company is allowed to continue operating without a municipal license.

City officials are still waiting for a Superior Court judge to determine if the Providence Board of Licenses has authority over the Allens Avenue business. 

Providence’s ordinance states that any business that purchases, sells, barters or deals in junk, old metals or secondhand materials, or accepts the materials to melt them down or convert them into new items, is required to obtain a junk license. But Rhode Island Recycled Metals (RIRM) argues that the city’s ordinance doesn’t apply to them because it doesn’t melt material at its Allens Avenue location.

“It’s semantics, and they’re splitting hairs,” said Linda Perri, president of the Washington Park Association on Providence’s South Side.

Officials said, in court documents, that the ordinance’s language is clear — any business that deals with metal requires a license, and any business that melts metal requires a license. 

They also added that there are two separate licensing fees depending on how a company handles metal. Those who receive metal to melt it down pay $5, while the others pay $100. 

Still, Superior Court Judge Christopher Smith rejected the city’s request to halt the business’s operations until it receives a license in 2024. 

“That was a blow to the community,” Perri said. 

Attorneys from both sides met at Rhode Island Superior Court on Monday for a status conference, held in the judge’s chambers rather than in the courtroom. 

The city did not respond to ecoRI News’ request for comment about the status of the case or what happens next. RIRM also did not respond to ecoRI News’ request for comment. 

Providence’s licensing department scheduled RIRM to appear before the board in March. Company officials didn’t appear at the first hearing, and the board continued the second hearing to May 28, pending the court’s direction on how to proceed with the application.

RIRM has operated without a municipal junk license since at least 2014. City officials said they didn’t become aware that it lacked one until 2023, according to the complaint filed in Superior Court. 

Joshua Estrella, Providence’s director of communications, wrote in an email that he couldn’t answer why it took the city years to find out the business didn’t hold a license. He added: “The Smiley administration began working to hold this facility accountable in his first year of office.” 

Jared Sevinor, one of the company’s owners, submitted an application for the license after the licensing department requested the business obtain one, but, according to court records, the application was incomplete.

The licensing office scheduled the owners to appear before the board in 2023 to update its members on their operations, but they didn’t show up. The hearing was continued five times before the board decided not to hear the application, according to the board’s meeting minutes. 

RIRM did not respond to ecoRI News’ request for comment on why the company did not attend any of the licensing hearings. 

The city did not respond to ecoRI News’ question about why it didn’t issue the business a cease-and-desist notice when representatives didn’t appear at board hearings. 

The department received the completed license application in 2024, according to the complaint, and scheduled the business to appear before the board. Rhode Island Recycled Metals’ attorney withdrew its application after it was scheduled to appear before the board twice that year. 

The company’s attorney sent an email to the licensing department administrator a few hours before the second hearing, explaining that the board lacked jurisdiction over the business and requesting that officials remove the item from the agenda. 

“The city’s ordinance only pertains to business transactions in junk metals for the purpose of melting the same down. There’s no such activity that occurs at this location and no city license is required,” RIRM attorney Nick Hemond wrote in an email. 

He added: “Any action taken by the Board, and its members, at the hearing this evening will be outside of the jurisdiction of the Board and can expose the Board, and its members, to significant liability.” 

Providence officials issued a cease-and-desist notice the following day. RIRM continued to stay open. 

“The city has no other avenue to enforce its orders other than in this court,” Providence officials wrote in the complaint, adding that if the court doesn’t enforce the city’s cease-and-desist notice, it could lead to other businesses undermining the city’s authority.