Newcomers to Florence and Muscle Shoals can see majestic trees, lush grass and even flowers lining the median as they enter either city through its main gateways.

But mingled among the beauty in both cities is the sight of scrap metal, stray bumpers, punched-out windows and old cars - vehicles so battered they look like they were dropped from the top of a staircase, hitting each step on the way down.

Along U.S. 72 in Florence, Red and Nolan England's auto parts stores are separated by a junkyard lined with a few school buses but mostly smaller vehicles, many with hoods popped open and surrounded by what one assumes were once the parts that went inside.

For years, business interests clashed with beautification advocates. Florence officials pressured the Englands to fence off the yard and clean up the area along the highway.

But Florence officials have no jurisdiction because the property lies just outside city limits.

"It's not an attractive thing for visitors to see," Mayor Bobby Irons said. "They have their property rights and business rights, but there should be some kind of balance between those and the city's beautification process."

Nolan England said everything has been done to make the junkyard as presentable as possible.

He said fencing was installed and trees were planted before they were torn down by transportation officials.

"We tried to do good," he said. "It's time to let sleeping dogs lie."

The salvage yard has rundown cars parked along the highway in addition to a gap in the fencing where dilapidated vehicles and parts are scattered in view of passing motorists.

The area remains a no man's land of sorts, as Lauderdale County Commissioner Rhea Tays Fulmer said the commission doesn't have the power to make the Englands clean up the land.

"We have limited authority because Lauderdale County has not passed a referendum on self-government," she said.

Instead, the county's authority pertains to areas tied to licensing, such as fencing, which the Englands already have.

Self-government is a step down from home rule but still allows county governments to enforce pollution and litter ordinances.

Fulmer said such a move hasn't been discussed, and even if it were, massive changes would not be likely to occur at the site.

"Honestly, I don't notice it," she said of the salvage yard. "It just doesn't bother me because it's a legitimate business."

She added that what people in the city see as junk, the England brothers see as profit.

Mallard Steel Inc., a scrap metal company on Alabama 20, lies just outside Muscle Shoals city limits.

Old John Deere tractors and stacked metal line the property like miniature rusty mountains. But one employee says not to compare their business to the Englands'.

"I hope ours doesn't look like that," office manager Robin McGee said. "To see our junk, you really have to make an effort."

Other than broken-down tractors, most of the junk is housed behind the building, out of view from the highway.

"What can you do?" she asked. "Junk is our business."

The company installed fencing around the debris, but McGee said that was mainly to prevent theft rather than for any aesthetic reason.

Muscle Shoals Mayor David Bradford said the city can do nothing, this despite the area falling within the police jurisdiction.

"We can enforce fire codes and look at greenery and fencing," he said. "But we're limited in what we can do in that area."

The Alabama Department of Transportation brought a lawsuit a half-decade ago, claiming the England salvage yard violated the federal Highway Beautification Act.

DOT demanded the business fence off the area and remove cars that were near the highway. There was no timetable for the

enforcements.

Today, many of the city's qualms remain.

Debbie Wilson, director of the Florence-Lauderdale Tourism Board, isn't satisfied.

"It's just such a critical area," she said, referring to westbound traffic from Huntsville, Rogersville and Killen that pours into the city. "It doesn't put our best face on."

Her office still fields calls, she said, from people who wonder why it can't be cleaned up.

Former Florence Councilman Tommy Pirkle led the previous crusade against the Englands, but even he appears to be softening his stance.

"I think I'm so accustomed to it, I've just kind of accepted it," he said. "Both of them have an excellent business."

In the battle between business and beauty, money wins, he said, especially during economic strife.

England said his business is booming - "never better" in fact - something even Wilson acknowledges.

"There's got to be a place for dead cars to go," she said. "It's not like he can just pack up and move his business."

Brian Hughes can be reached at 740-5720 or brian.hughes@TimesDaily.com.