It never ends.
Polk County Code Enforcement has taken action to deal with violations of the Green Swamp regulations on a group of parcels near the intersection of Deen Stilll Road and Sweet Hill Road north of Lake Alfred.
The violations involved bringing in fill to establish a dirt bike course of some sort on property owned by Anthony and Wendy Greedy, who live in the United Kingdom, according to Polk County property records.
I visited the site. The property appears to be up for sale, according to signs posted at the entrance.
This is the latest in a series of attempts to introduce this kind of intense activity into the Green Swamp Area of Critical State Concern.
In 2007 some ATV enthusiasts attempted to launch something called the Sweet Hill Thrill in a section of Groveland Acres, one of a large number of platted, but undevelopable subdivisions that were carved out of swampland and marketed and remarketed to investors from abroad and out of state using the lure of proximity to Disney.
More recently Polk code enforcement officials have taken action to deal with this Deen Stilll Road facility and another off Old Polk City Road south of Interstate 4.
This is not only an environmental offense, it is also an offense to taxpayers.
Three of the parcels involved in the Deen Still Road case were given agricultural classifications for alleged “hayfields” on parts of the parcels, which resulted in the exemption of real estate assessed at $45,642 on the county tax roll, despite the seeming absence of any haying operation on a site destined for motocross.
The effect of this classification, which is common in Polk County on the flimsiest of standards, meant that about $650 didn’t’ go to support county government, parks, libraries or schools.