Local residents who previously sold livestock outside of Rural King in Ocala have been prohibited by city officials from making future sales at the site after a citizen made a complaint.
A citizen filed the zoning complaint with the city of Ocala on August 15. That same day, a case officer visited the Rural King, which is located at 1138 NW 27th Avenue.
During the case officer’s first visit, her notes show that she provided details of the complaint to the assistant manager at the facility. The officer told the manager that “outdoor live animal sales” were to “cease immediately.”
At the time of her first visit, the general manager of the Rural King was on vacation, according to the report.
On August 19, the officer received approval to visit the site where the sale were taking place on the following Saturday, August 24, to assess any possible code violations.
During the officer’s visit to the site that day, the officer’s notes show that vendors were still selling outdoor live animals despite the officer’s “initial verbal warning for this operation to cease.”
The officer took pictures and videos of the animals to document the violation.
On August 26, the officer revisited the site and met with the general manager, who had returned from vacation that day. The manager informed the officer that the business did not “manage” the group who sold livestock.
According to the report, the officer informed the manager that it is Rural King’s property and that they are “not zoned for this particular usage.” She went on to further say that “Rural King can have these operations removed.”
At the time, the officer said she needed a “set plan” about how the business would address the issue. The report notes that the business intended to put up signs for the Labor Day weekend.
During a visit to the site on August 30, Ocala-News.com photographed the following signs that were posted around the area where the outdoor livestock sales were held:
The outdoor sales violated section 122-1205 of the city code of ordinances regarding outdoor sales criteria for certain uses in B-4, B-5, and M-1 districts.
The case is still active and no additional updates have been made in the file.