C&D Operator Files Suit Against Florida City

Waste Corp. of Central Florida has sued Fort Meade over the City Commission's decision to deny a proposed expansion at the company's construction & demolition landfill. The city turned down the request early last month. The company had 30 days after the denial to file the suit.

The city’s move to deny a conditional use permit for the company came after zoning and planning officials with the city already voted in favor of the project, and city staff worked with the company for more than six months to take care of several sticking points.

Before denying the permit, the City Commission had originally deferred the request, but had then voted to turn down the project. According to Ed Menger, an attorney with Waste Corp., headquartered in Houston, the decision was made “without any factual basis.”

Attorneys for Waste Corp. claim the commission did not have any legal grounds to deny the company's conditional use permit, and they're asking the Polk County Circuit Court to review the commission's actions.

Menger notes that after the Fort Meade made the decision there were very few options to take, one being filing a petition with a court to overturn the city’s decision.

The dispute between the company, headquartered in Houston, and the Florida city surround roughly 226 acres that the company owns in the city.

Only a small portion of the acreage is used for the C&D landfill. The project looked to add additional acreage to the landfill to allow it to take in additional construction and demolition waste.