Commission denies special-use permit for food-waste depackaging facility amid widespread community concern

The Marion County Board of County Commissioners unanimously denied a special-use permit request from Wood Resource Recovery and partner Denali Water Solutions to depackage expired food and incorporate it into outdoor compost windrows at a facility along Gainesville Road.

Staff presented the application and 14 proposed conditions, noting that the proposed process'depackaging food packaging, producing a food slurry and mixing that slurry into vegetative windrows'is not a routine by-right activity in Marion County and therefore required a special-use permit with close monitoring. "This type of depackaging facility is not something that we'd ever considered for our current code," Senior Planner Kenneth Odom told commissioners, outlining concerns and recommended conditions aimed at controlling odors, leachate and truck traffic.

Applicant Levin Gaston described his company's long-running vegetative compost operation and said the new process could be managed to avoid off-site odor and groundwater impacts. "If we cannot do this right, we either have to fix it or close it down," Gaston said, describing monitoring wells, carbon feedstock controls and a contained handling floor.

Denali's environmental director, Sarah Harrison, explained that the company has operated similar systems elsewhere in the United States, has applied for a Florida DEP permit for the depackaging activity and intends to install stormwater storage and an "alternative leachate" plan. She said the facility is designed to process only about 24 hours' worth of material at a time and that industrial stormwater and DEP permits will require testing and controls.

But opponents, including nearby business owners, parents, school advocates and attorneys, raised extensive objections. The Canyons Adventure Park, school groups and neighbors stressed the site's proximity to Fessenden Elementary (about one mile), local horse farms and tourism businesses. Attorney Alexandra Scales argued the proposal is incompatible with neighboring uses and pointed to Marion County's own experience with a prior organic waste operation that generated repeated complaints and eventually ceased operations. "This facility is simply not compatible with the surrounding area," Scales said. Residents also urged stringent conditions if the board considered approval: real-time fence-line monitoring for hydrogen sulfide and ammonia, immediate covering of any slurry application, and groundwater monitoring wells with quarterly testing.

Commissioners debated whether denying the SUP would expose the county to other heavy industrial uses allowed by M2 zoning; several members noted that the property'currently zoned M2'could, in theory, host other industrial activities. Still, most commissioners told the applicant the proposed open-air depackaging and windrow process posed unacceptable risks in this sensitive location. Commissioner Stone moved to deny the request; Commissioner Curry seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.

What’s next: The SUP denial ends the applicant's request at this site. County staff noted that the property remains zoned M2 and could be used for by-right industrial activities; the applicant and partners may seek alternative sites or revise plans for a more enclosed process and return to the county at a later date.