Appeals Court Rules In Favor Of NC County In Lawsuit With Campground

A state appellate court ruled that Currituck County campground owners won’t have the right to expand their campsites or construct a swimming pool.

The North Carolina Court of Appeals‘ three-judge panel ruled Tuesday Currituck County could legally stop 85’ and Sunny, LLC building new facilities at its campground in Waterlily. This decision overturned a Superior Court judge’s earlier decision in the company’s case, a report said.

“Currituck County is pleased with the court’s ruling as it proves Planning Director Laurie LoCicero’s initial findings and procedures for 2019 were correct,” the county stated in a news release.

The panel that heard the case on June 8 was composed of Donna Stroud, Chief Judge of the state Court of Appeals, and April Wood, Judge of Appeals Court.

The lawsuit was based on the Currituck Board of Adjustment’s refusal to grant Sunny and 85′ permits to expand the campground. The campground was bought by 85′ LLC in 2018. They wanted to increase the number of campsites to 314 and build restrooms, as well as a swimming pool and bathhouses.

The county planning officers determined that the campground could accommodate 234 RVs, trailers, or campers and a minimum number of tent camping sites to be determined.

The Board of Adjustments ruled for the county and denied the requests of the plaintiff.

The case was heard at Currituck County Superior Court in January 2020. Sunny and 85′ were partially favored by the judge, who ruled that the owners of the campground could increase the number of sites, but not build the swimming pool.

Both the campground and county appealed, and the case was transferred to the state Court of Appeals.

The Court of Appeals‘ Tuesday ruling reverted to Currituck County’s original determination to allow only 234 campsites in the campground and to disallow the swimming pool.

A spokesperson for the campground referred Friday’s reporter to a manager, who did not immediately return a call.

Randall Edwards, Currituck County spokesperson, said that it was not clear if the campground will have to move any buildings in light of the Court of Appeals‘ decision.

Edwards stated that the County staff would be looking at the property to determine if any structures need to be removed to comply with the Court of Appeals decision. However, Edwards did not say what the final outcome of the review was.