PHOENIX — Living next to Turf Paradise is anything but a paradise, according to neighbors.
Viewers reached out to ABC15, concerned about a “biohazard” with all the manure on the property.
The smell is something Ray Gorny experiences quite often as he takes his daily walks and bicycle rides.
“Stuff comes over and it's in the pools. Flies are horrible,” he said. “When the wind’s blowing the right way, it’s horrible.”
Bob Santo has lived next to Turf Paradise for 20 years and tells ABC15 he knew and expected the smells of a horse race track next door. He said it’s been unpleasant over the years; however, he says this year, it’s “extremely bad.”
“We live in the desert, and critters come out and I think we all understand that, but not to even when we can't sit outside in the evening when it kind of cools down and not be destroyed by flies,” Santo said.
Turf Paradise General Manager Vincent Francia tells ABC15 he’s aware of the complaints from his neighbors.
In years past, Francia said they typically haul the manure out ”as fast as we could.” However, this year, he said manure they had on the property is being turned into fertilizer with a partnership with a third-party company.
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“It’s spread out, so it’s dried in the sun and then it goes through a natural drying process. I can understand why they would feel, gee, this year has been the worst ever,” Francia said.
Neighbors also mentioned there was a fire on the property recently, which Francia tells ABC15 was due to spontaneous combustion.
“Our apologies to the residents and the families that have had their lives disrupted by this,” Francia said.
Turf Paradise has been cited by both Maricopa County and the City of Phoenix.
A spokesperson with the City of Phoenix tells ABC15 the Neighborhood Services Department issued a citation on February 18 after complaints from nearby residents. They said the case is going through the City’s code enforcement process and an arraignment is scheduled for June 18.
As for Maricopa County, a spokesperson said it issued a notice of violation and compliance order for the “failure to manage the manure on the property to protect against the breeding of flies and to prevent migration of fly larvae (maggots). They currently have until June 10 to remove the uncontained manure from the property and further manage any additional manure accumulated to prevent fly breeding.”
Francia said he’s working to comply, however, feels there are conflicting orders on how to solve the problem from both the city and county.
Neighbors tell ABC15 they just want better maintenance of the property.
