Spoil to Soil and its Browns Canyon landlord are asking a judge to undo a Summit County Council decision that has forced the business to close temporarily.
In October the council voted to suspend the composter’s permits after staff said the facility had committed dozens of violations and was doing unpermitted work.
The suspension set terms and a timeline for Spoil to Soil to fix any problems so it can reopen, but instead, the company and its landowner are appealing the directive in 3rd District Court.
In an appeal filed Nov. 14, the facility’s attorney Kyle Reeder argues staff’s allegations were “inaccurate, undisclosed and exaggerated” and violated his clients’ due process.
The landowners have said they learned about the allegations through an August planning commission staff report and didn’t get notices from the county.
“Because the first thing I did when I saw a staff report — I worked with my wife, and I'm like, ‘Hey, did you get any emails on any of these? Any communication, any letters?’ ‘No,’” owner Kristen Clayton’s husband Jared told the Eastern Summit County Planning commission in August. “Then I called the previous operator, Mike [Mimbach], and he's like, ‘No.’”
The county contends it did notify the Spoil to Soil operators of violations.
Summit County has not yet responded to the appeal, but councilmembers publicly said they wanted to be sure the process was fair.
When staff presented their allegations to the council in September, the council waited three weeks to vote as a precaution.
Summit County has been aware of potential violations at the Spoil to Soil property for years.
A neighbor began filing complaints at least as far back as 2023, which prompted the facility to apply for permits, but complaints kept coming.
Code enforcement officer Scott Buchanan told councilmembers in October that the property has a history of ignoring directives.
The planning commission wanted to revoke the permits in August, but the council decided only to suspend them.
The council’s terms aren’t cheap; for example, Spoil to Soil is being asked to pave a new road while it’s shut down.
Since the facility closed, most of Park City’s food waste is being trucked to North Salt Lake, where it becomes natural gas or fertilizer.
Summit County is a financial supporter of KPCW.
