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Pasco mulch business to close; cleanup dispute lingers

Staff file photo by ANDY JONES

Two fires broke out at the 9-acre site this year.

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By TODD LESKANIC | The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 7, 2009

NEW PORT RICHEY - L&N Mulch, a business the county has hounded for code violations since 2007, will close by the end of the month.

But the question remains: Who will clean up the 9-acre property near State Road 54 and Gunn Highway?

In a court hearing today, the business agreed to plead no contest to a pair of code violations and to pay $226 in fines and court costs.

But L&N attorney Barbara Wilhite told County Judge Paul Firmani that her clients have begun closing the business and have "no ability" to remove or process massive amounts of landscaping debris still on the property.

Assistant County Attorney Kristi Wooden told Firmani that L&N should be ordered to clean up the lot.

"The county's position is that the property in its present state presents a severe threat to life and property because of the fire risk from the material stockpiled on the property," Wooden said.

Firmani said he would issue a ruling by the end of the month.

L&N ground stumps, trees and landscape debris into mulch for Busch Gardens and other clients. The business has operated under a lease with property owners Charles and Rosemary Redding of Hernando Beach.

County officials have said the business has operated for years without proper permits. County commissioners denied L&N's application for a conditional use permit in September. The denial came after two fires broke out on the property, one in February and another in June. Firefighters needed more than 12 hours and 700,000 gallons of water to douse the blazes.

The fires prompted Fire Marshal Larry Whitten to deem the mulch business a public safety threat. The cause of the fires was never determined.

Reporter Todd Leskanic can be reached at (813) 731-8098.

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