Change the Osceola County Waste Management Ordinances

Many Osceola County property owners do not have residential waste management services because some properties are residential agricultural and the buildings are agricultural and sheds, causing them to be qualified for the commercial trash service that has a much higher rate. Being that Residential Agriculture is a subset of residential, not commercial, there have been some agriculture properties that have unintentionally slipped through the cracks. This has caused garbage at the end of the road in various containers to not be removed and some goes into ditches. Changing Osceola ordinances to include rural parcels that have need for residential waste management services would continue Osceola’s work to keep Osceola clean.

I respectfully request that Osceola County Ordinance, Chapter 19, be amended with the following corrections: Section 19 -1 change the definition Rural Parcel because the size of the property must not cause a discrepancy in service. The definition of commercial should not be anything that is not residential, it should match the Florida Statues. Florida statue 479.024 reads, “Commercial and industrial parcels.—Signs shall be permitted by the department only in commercial or industrial zones, as determined by the local government, in compliance with chapter 163, unless otherwise provided in this chapter. Commercial and industrial zones are those areas appropriate for commerce, industry, or trade, regardless of how those areas are labeled” (http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?mode=View%20Statutes&SubMenu=1&App_mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=commercial&URL=0400-0499/0479/Sections/0479.024.html). Florida statue 475.801 is, (4) “Commercial real estate” means a fee simple interest or other possessory estate in real property, except an interest in real property that is: (The statues then lists some exceptions to provide clarification that various unimproved properties, single family residential properties, and multifamily properties are not commercial. The entire statue is available here: ((http://www.leg.state.fl.us/Statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=&URL=0400-0499/0475/Sections/0475.801.html).

If we amend Osceola County ordinances to match the state definitions, we would enable every subset of residential to be incorporated into the waste management services, giving the county a way to keep Osceola beautiful, improving sanitation, and clarifying only the commercial properties must pay $500.00 a month for waste management service only if the rural parcel has commerce, industry, trade, or receives interest. I respectfully request the definitions “residential service” and “residential property” be amended to anything that is not commerce, industry, or trade and does not receive interest. This would avoid confusion, streamline the ability to approve properties, and provide a universal guideline of what is acceptable trash regardless of classification. The changes would create a path for so many to keep their property clean, creating a cleaner environment and continuing the county’s progress to keep Osceola beautiful. Thank you Osceola for all the work you have done so far to improve our community and thank you for your consideration.