Marion County Weighs Settlement That Could Reopen Food-Waste Composting Permit on NW Gainesville Road

Marion County commissioners will consider a mediated settlement agreement on Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2026, with the companies and owners whose request to compost expired grocery store food waste on NW Gainesville Road was denied in June. Approving the agreement would not approve the composting operation. It would require the board to hold a new quasi-judicial hearing on the special use permit, this time with a list of conditions the two sides negotiated, according to the county's Oct. 20 agenda packet.

Digitally generated illustration of compost. Not a photo of the NW Gainesville Road site.

What Was Denied and Why It Is Back

The application (File No. 260503SU) asked to add "de-packaging" equipment, which separates expired grocery food from its packaging, to a vegetative debris composting operation on about 36.77 acres at 8510 and 8548 NW Gainesville Road, Ocala 34482, in a Heavy Industrial (M-2) zone. The applicants are WRR of Marion County, LLC; Gaston Tree Debris Recycling, L.L.C.; Levin Gaston; William G. Gaston III; and Denali Water Solutions LLC. County staff wrote that the vegetative debris operation has run at the site since 2009.

The Planning and Zoning Commission recommended approval with conditions on April 27, 2026. On June 2, 2026, the county commission denied the permit 4-0, according to the county's meeting record. The petitioners filed a request for relief on July 1 under the Florida Land Use and Environmental Dispute Resolution Act (FLUEDRA), Section 70.51, Florida Statutes, and also asked the circuit court to review the denial (Case No. 2026-CA-1611). A special magistrate held the FLUEDRA hearing and mediation on Sept. 24, 2026. The agreement says members of the public spoke before the mediation, and none commented on the proposed settlement.

The Proposed Conditions

If the board later approves the permit, the agreement lists conditions that would be written into it. Among them:

• Use: a composting facility for green waste, animal bedding and food waste only, built to the submitted conceptual plan. Any expansion needs a new special use permit.
• Enclosed de-packaging: a building that fully encloses de-packaging must be built before de-packaging starts. Food waste is held in that building on arrival and placed in windrows within 24 hours.
• Groundwater: at least four monitoring wells, installed at the applicant's cost before composting starts, with baseline data and quarterly reports to the county Solid Waste Department on nitrogen and phosphorus levels.
• Odor: odor at the property line must stay under the thresholds in the county code. If the county finds offensive odor off-site, a corrective action plan is due within 10 working days, and enough carbon material for a six-inch cover over active food-waste compost must be kept on hand.
• Repeated problems: three verified nuisance events in 30 days, or five in 90 days, can lead to a public hearing to modify the permit, for example by cutting food-waste volume, adding enclosures or scrubbers, or requiring independent odor monitoring.
• Site limits: no composting in the on-site wetland, Springs Protection Zone rules with no waiver, existing buffers kept, compost piles capped at 12 feet and wood chip piles at 20 feet, and access only from the existing entrance on NW Gainesville Road.
• Records and contacts: monthly and yearly food-waste records, a complaint website posted on the site's signs with responses within 72 hours, and a 24/7 emergency contact.
• Money and safety: a $100,000 bond for closure and environmental cleanup, plus a fire suppression plan on the site plan.

The permit would expire two years after de-packaging begins, when the operator must report on the pilot, groundwater results, nuisance events and any state enforcement. It would then renew administratively for up to three terms ending Dec. 31, 2031, 2034 and 2037, unless there are unresolved code or permit violations.

What Happens Next

If the board approves the agreement, the county schedules the quasi-judicial hearing on the permit. If the permit is approved and that approval becomes final, both sides release their claims over the June denial, and the petitioners dismiss the court case within 10 days. If the board rejects the agreement, or later denies the permit, the dispute returns to the special magistrate for an evidentiary hearing and recommendation, and both sides keep their claims. Each side pays its own legal fees. The county lists no budget impact.

How to Comment

The item is 8.1 under the County Attorney on the agenda for the 9 a.m. meeting at the McPherson Governmental Campus Auditorium, 601 SE 25th Ave., Ocala. The agenda has a public comment period for listed items. The deadline to reserve a five-minute slot (5 p.m. the Friday before) has passed, but speakers may sign up at the desk in the auditorium foyer on the day of the meeting for two minutes. Commissioners are listed on our county commission page.

For the rest of the agenda, see what else is on the Oct. 20 commission agenda. Other recent land use cases include the county's first agricultural enclave and the Oct. 22 billboard setback hearing. Our local government guide covers how county and city decisions are made.

Sources: Marion County Board of County Commissioners agenda, Oct. 20, 2026, item 8.1 (File No. 2026-24718) and the attached Mediated Settlement Agreement signed by the petitioners Oct. 12-13, 2026; county Legistar records for SUP 260503SU (Planning and Zoning Commission action April 27, 2026; board denial June 2, 2026). The settlement agreement gives the denial date as June 12; the county's meeting record shows June 2. Checked Oct. 18, 2026.