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Residents warn commissioners about proposed slaughterhouse and urge enforcement relief for Port Salerno property owner
Summary
During public comment, residents and local business owners urged action on two separate issues: opposition to a proposed slaughterhouse citing water‑quality and animal‑welfare concerns, and pleas for fair treatment and resolution of code‑enforcement actions involving a Port Salerno commercial tenant.
Several residents used the public‑comment period at the March 10 Martin County commission meeting to raise two distinct concerns: opposition to a proposed large slaughterhouse and a request for staff intervention in a Port Salerno code‑enforcement dispute.
Susan Hargreaves (founder, Be an Animal Hero) urged the board to stop a proposed 26‑acre slaughterhouse she said would include a 50,000 ft² facility that, in her account, would produce wastewater equivalent to "14,000 people per day." Hargreaves cited environmental and animal‑welfare harms and warned of further water‑quality deterioration in the Lake Okeechobee system if such operations are permitted. She asked commissioners to use their authority to "protect residents of Martin County" and not allow the proposed operation to proceed. The board did not take action on the project during the meeting; Hargreaves and other speakers asked staff and commissioners to examine regulatory avenues.
A separate cluster of public comments asked the board to review a code‑enforcement matter in Port Salerno involving Samuel Alco, who the county says has been parking commercial trucks on a leased parcel without an associated building. Alco described being ordered to remove trucks he said are essential to his business and asked the board to consider a resolution that would allow him to continue operating while staff and the owner seek an amicable solution. Several neighbors and business owners, including landlord James Crowley and real‑estate professional Don Ted, argued Alco has improved the property and described local support for him. Commissioner Vargas requested a memo from staff and directed Mr. Donaldson and Miss Elder to look into the case.
Next steps: staff agreed to provide a memo on the status of the Port Salerno code‑enforcement case. The slaughterhouse matter was raised as a public‑comment concern; the board did not vote on that item during the meeting.
