Planning panel denies Merit Monuments' request for home‑business exception after neighbors cite noise, traffic and health concerns

The Hernando County Planning & Zoning Commission voted 3–2 on Dec. 16 to deny a special‑exception application from Merit Monuments — the company owned by David and Lynette Merritt — to operate a monument‑processing business at a Weatherly Road property.

Supporters of the Merritts said the business has operated intermittently on the parcels for about a decade and argued the sandblasting work is limited, contained and largely off‑site. “We don't cut granite. We get the granite already cut. We sandblast it,” said Joe Merritt, who described work in an enclosed sandblasting booth and said filtration prevents fugitive dust from escaping.

Opponents — many of whom live near the site — told the commission the use has increasingly disturbed the rural neighborhood. “I can hear the machinery running on a regular basis,” said resident Edward Mobbs, who submitted petitions and photos he said documented heavy equipment, thousands of visible monuments and repeated loud blasts. Other speakers raised concerns about truck traffic, on‑street unloading, silica dust from grinding or sandblasting, potential runoff affecting private wells and a broader change in neighborhood character.

County planning staff recommended approval of the special exception subject to performance conditions that would require setbacks, a 20‑foot natural buffer, compliance with residential protection standards and obscuring stored monuments from public view. Petitioner counsel Daryl Johnston said the applicants would comply: the firm can consolidate inventory into a smaller area and install screening per staff recommendations.

Commission discussion centered on whether the operation should be treated as a true home‑based business — which the land‑development code allows under narrow limits — or as a light‑industrial activity better addressed by rezoning. Several commissioners said the potential for higher intensity use and the precedent of approving similar activities weighed against granting a special exception. Assistant county counsel reminded the panel that, in quasi‑judicial matters, the commission must base its decision on evidence and the land‑development regulations.

Commissioner Mike Fulford moved to deny the special exception, arguing the record and law pointed toward rezoning rather than an exception; Commissioner Axel David seconded. The motion passed 3–2. The denial means Merit Monuments cannot continue the current level of monument processing under the requested special‑exception authorization; the Merritts may pursue a rezoning application or other administrative paths available under county code.

What happens next: the commission's denial was final for this meeting; staff and the applicants discussed options such as resubmitting with different conditions, pursuing rezoning, or appealing to the Board of County Commissioners. The commission record contains petitions, photos and sworn testimony from multiple neighbors as well as sworn testimony from the Merritts and their counsel. The hearing record and conditions staff referenced will be available in the county planning file for register item 16731.