Proposed Slaughterhouse Near Lake Okeechobee Bypasses Martin County Review
State ag exemption strips county of permitting authority over 56,784-sq.-ft. meat processing facility
WHAT HAPPENED: A landowner is seeking to build a 56,784-square-foot meat processing facility on a 2,046-acre cattle ranch in northwestern Martin County near Lake Okeechobee, and a state agricultural exemption has placed the project outside the county's development review process.
WHAT IT MEANS: Because the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services classified the facility as an agricultural building, Martin County cannot require the landowner to go through its normal permitting and development review. That means residents near Lake Okeechobee could see a large-scale meat processing operation built without local oversight over waste management, water runoff or other environmental safeguards typically reviewed at the county level.
WHO IS AFFECTED: Residents of northwestern Martin County and anyone downstream of Lake Okeechobee who depends on regional water quality. Community members packed a Martin County Commission meeting Tuesday to oppose the project.
Jacqui Thurlow-Lippisch, a board member with the Guardians of Martin County, told commissioners: "It's unfair to the citizens of Martin County and of Florida because we put all this time and energy into improving our water quality and there's the possibility now that we are just going to make it worse."
Growth Management Director Paul Schilling said the proposal "was determined ultimately to be exempt from county and local rules" based on a legal opinion from FDACS. Critics argue the facility is industrial in nature and should not qualify for an agricultural exemption.
The rancher, Tunny Mizrachi, declined to comment through a representative.
WHAT TO WATCH: Commissioners directed staff to conduct additional legal research into the FDACS decision and to meet with Mizrachi to discuss development plans. No date has been set for a follow-up report.
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