Protesters will gather before the Sarasota County Planning Commission hears plans Thursday for a construction debris recycling center near the Celery Fields.

SARASOTA COUNTY — Opponents of a planned commercial recycling facility near the popular Celery Fields plan to protest outside Sarasota County's administration building downtown Thursday afternoon.

The group of nearby residents, environmental advocates and newfound government watchdogs adamantly oppose the Jim Gabbert-led application for TST Venture LLC, Recycling to build a construction and demolition debris recycling center at the corner of Palmer Boulevard and Apex Road near the Celery Fields wildlife and recreation area.

The county Planning Commission is scheduled to discuss the project during its meeting at 5 p.m. in the chambers of the administration building on Ringling Boulevard, so opponents of the project have planned a "peaceful protest" outside the building for the hour before the meeting.

Many of those protesters are then expected to attend the public meeting, to explain their objections during the meeting's public comment period.

"The proposed TST Ventures-Recycling Dump is a development that Sarasota Stakeholders deem too risky and dangerous for not only the Celery Field but also the quality of life for the neighborhood developments in the area," opposition coordinator Adrien Lucas wrote in an email this week.

The Gabbert proposal is the second major project on the county-owned land at the corner of Apex and Palmer to face fierce opposition from the group this year.

In March, the company under contract to buy one parcel and build a Restaurant Depot there withdrew its application amid the public fight during which the same group held several protests that drew hundreds of opponents to the site.

The group already had its sights on the Gabbert project, listing a litany of concerns about both that ranged from potential environmental and traffic impacts of each project to conspiracy-laden rhetoric about the project's leaders' relationships with county officials. The opposition also has put Gabbert's frequent campaign donations to current and former commissioners in the spotlight.

The project proposal calls for the development of a 16-acre recycling facility to process construction and demolition debris such as wood, scrap metal or large slabs of concrete, according to the proposal. The open-air facility would be allowed to operate from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday, would be required to mitigate dust per state permit regulations and would not allow debris piles taller than 35 feet.

The site has an extensive history as part of the county-owned Celery Fields and is in a zoning area known as a major employment center that has been specifically designated for future industrial, office and commercial space for decades, according to county documents.

TST Ventures owns four acres on the site that was approved for a waste transfer facility by the County Commission in October 2015.

But opponents have questioned whether the facility could pollute and damage the Celery Fields, reversing years of county and private work to restore the area. In the mid-1990s, the county spent more than $20 million to improve the area for flood prevention and the Sarasota Audubon Society has worked on the site since 2001.

County staff reviewed the project and recommended approval, which requires a rezoning for light industrial operations and a special exception to those rules for the specific type of facility Gabbert has proposed, according to county documents.

The Planning Commission will consider whether to recommend approval of those applications and whether any additional stipulations or requirements should be put into the rules for the parcel. The County Commission then will consider the recommendation, likely later this summer.