The landfill dates to 1965, when it started as the
North Broward County Resource Recovery and Central Disposal Sanitary Landfill, a ten-foot high pile of debris in what was then a remote section of the county. Complaints from the city in the 1990s resulted in Waste Management being fined for violating air standards. In 2011, Waste Management renamed the site the "Monarch Hill Renewable Energy Park." After Waste Management received a series of warnings from Broward County in 2012, it also agreed to place a cap over of the landfill, spread of soil over trash instead of the required , employ greater use of odor-neutralizing chemicals, and pay over $100,000 in fines and costs. Nevertheless, by 2013, Waste Management had accumulated $1.6 million in fines, and Coconut Creek was still plagued by foul odors from Monarch Hill. In 2011, Monarch Hill was used as filming location for the film
Rock of Ages (2012). Doubling for
Mount Lee in
Los Angeles, a 20-foot tall replica of the
Hollywood Sign was built on the southwest area of the hill for the filming of a scene from the film. The set was taken down after filming concluded. In 2025, Waste Management agreed to close the landfill around 2050 under an agreement reached with Broward County. ==References==