Polk County officials have filed an appeal of the May 10 ruling that rejected most of the county’s code enforcement efforts to shut down BS Ranch & Farm over odor problems and for operating without proper county zoning permits.
The appeal filed last week contends the special magistrate erred in claiming county officials should have known there would be odor problems, in requiring the county to prove beyond a reasonable doubt rather than based on the preponderance of evidence that BS Ranch was the source of the odor complaints and failing to enforce Polk’s development regulations.
Polk officials are seeking to impose thousands of dollars in fines for the violations.
No date for the appeal hearing has been set.
Meanwhile, efforts are under way to restart an unrelated soil manufacturing plant in Haines City that was built adjacent to the city’s sewer plant, The Ledger reports.. The soil plant has been the subject of numerous odor complaints from surrounding property owners. I have smelled objectionable odors while driving near the plant.
Finally, St Lucie County officials are poised to approve a comprehensive ordinance governing composing operations as the end of a temporary moratorium on such plants ends soon.
That ordinance requires plants to be located indoors with adequate odor control equipment and requires plant owners to poste adequate bonds to cover the cost of any cleanups if the operation goes south. It is a good example of what Polk County could have done and may still do.