BARTOW — A Lakeland composting manufacturer has filed a lawsuit against Polk County seeking to halt action by the County Commission that effectively shut the business down.

The owners of BS Ranch & Farm, who’ve been battling the county for months after odors drew attention to the company’s operations last year, are challenging the commission’s Oct. 3 vote rescinding earlier approvals that would have allowed the business to continue.

BS Ranch converts yard waste, vegetable waste, animal byproducts, manure, biosolids and treated wastewater effluent into soil and soil additives for the agricultural industry.

Last year, the county agreed to a series of modifications to BS Ranch’s operations permit, but on Oct. 3, commissioners voted to repeal those ordinances. The lawsuit, filed in Circuit Court, seeks to halt that decision. It also alleges the commission decided in private before Oct. 3 to rescind the ordinances and seeks judicial review to determine whether the board violated the state’s open-meetings law.

The lawsuit also maintains the county violated BS Ranch’s right to due process by failing to notify the company about the pending vote. In addition, it alleges the county abused its discretion in not approving the measures that would have allowed BS Ranch to continue operating.

County Manager Jim Freeman declined comment on the lawsuit Friday.