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Magistrate finds manure transfer operation on residential parcel; orders removal by July 2
Summary
Town staff told the special magistrate the property at (file lists) 1478 Road is being used as a manure transfer station and lacks permits; the magistrate ordered removal of material and set a July 2 compliance date with a July 7 fine-assessment hearing if not resolved.
Special Magistrate Amity Barnard found the property listed in the file as 1478 Road in violation of Town of Loxahatchee Groves code sections 30-43, 30-44 and 20-015 for operating a manure transfer business on an agricultural-residential parcel and ordered removal of the material and cessation of the transfer activity by July 2, 2025.
Town witnesses, including Public Works Superintendent Craig Lauer and code compliance staff, said they observed repeated deliveries of manure and shavings to the site, storage of material in piles, and subsequent loading into larger vehicles for removal. Lauer described the operation as “essentially a business” and told the magistrate the volume and turnover suggested the property was serving as a transfer station rather than storing manure generated by bona fide on-site agricultural or equestrian uses.
John Suarez, the town’s code officer, said the original notice was posted on April 1 and that photographs in the file document ongoing deliveries and storage. Suarez told the magistrate the property has no permit for manure processing and no equestrian/agricultural use recorded that would justify the quantities observed.
Barnard entered the town’s evidentiary case file into the record and found the respondents in violation of the listed code sections. She ordered removal of the stored material and an end to incoming manure deliveries by July 2, 2025; if the violation continues after that date the town may assess fines, and a fine-assessment hearing was scheduled for July 7, 2025. The magistrate also recorded the town’s administrative-cost request of $234.05 for the prosecution of the case.
Town staff noted a March/April timeline for initial notice and said the property previously had been the subject of complaints; the magistrate directed the town to return with evidence of compliance at the July 7 hearing if the respondent does not request and obtain a reinspection before then.
