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Special magistrate continues Loxahatchee Groves manure-storage code case to Feb. 18
Summary
Special Magistrate Amity Barnard granted a 30-day continuance in case CE25-64 on Jan. 21, 2026, after respondents’ counsel said the parties are working with Florida agencies on a mitigation and registration process; the town objected citing large manure piles near waterways. The stop-work order remains in effect.
A special magistrate in the Town of Loxahatchee Groves on Wednesday granted a 30-day continuance in a code-enforcement case concerning large piles of manure and bedding at 1470 A Road, resetting the violation hearing for Feb. 18, 2026, at 9 a.m.
The hearing opened Jan. 21, when Magistrate Amity Barnard took testimony and considered a motion to continue filed on behalf of lessees Immaculate Ways Inc and Santana Equestrian Private Financial Inc. Attorney Preston J. Fields told the magistrate his clients have registered with state agencies and are working with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and the Department of Health on a mitigation plan and state approvals. "I need a continuance," Fields said, asking for 60 days to remove material, complete mitigation planning and seek state sign‑off; he told the court the removal effort would take "about 60 days" and that his clients had stopped bringing additional material on site.
The town opposed delaying the matter, saying the property contains "vast quantities of manure" piled as high as 15 to 20 feet and that material had altered the topography and was placed within roughly 200 feet of open water and 500 feet of potable wells. Lead code officer Diana Thomas testified she placed a stop‑work order at 1470 A Road on Dec. 22, 2025, and mailed a notice of violation and notice of hearing dated Dec. 30, 2025; she also testified that affidavits of service and posting are in the case file.
Magistrate Barnard said the rapid timeline between the Dec. 30 notice and the Jan. 21 hearing and the complexity of overlapping state and local processes weighed in favor of an extension. She entered the notice documents and affidavits of service into the record as composite Exhibit 1 and made a finding of legally sufficient service for both the property owner and the tenants. "Given the complexity of this case, I'm going to grant the motion," Barnard said, resetting the violation hearing for Feb. 18, 2026, at 9 a.m.
Barnard noted she did not view a 60‑day continuance as necessary and set a 30‑day continuance instead. She reiterated that the stop‑work order remains in full force and effect and that any violations of that order could prompt an emergency hearing or fines before the next scheduled date; she also asked the parties to bring the complete case file back for the next hearing and said she would consider any compliance or removal activity when making her final findings.
The magistrate's order granting the continuance will be signed and placed in the record; the town was instructed to return the full case file at the next hearing so that the magistrate can complete evidentiary review and rule on the merits at that time.
