The Carteret County Board of Commissioners in North Carolina has approved a proposal by developer Dirt2Dreams to rezone 156 acres of land near Peletier for an RV park development.
The decision, which was made after a hearing that lasted approximately two hours and featured public comments, was passed by a vote of 5-1, according to a report by the Carteret County News-Times.
The county board had previously voted to rezone the property from single-family residential to the recreational camper park district in 2021, but the decision was challenged in a lawsuit by nearby residents who live near the rezoned property and claimed that the change would cause them to “suffer imminent injury through loss of character of the particular neighborhood”.
The case was won on a technicality in Craven County Superior Court, and the county board held a public hearing and voted on the rezoning again on Monday.
During the hearing, Attorney George Oliver, who represented the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, argued that Dirt2Dreams could still have made a profit on its $1.5 million land purchase by building and selling traditional homes rather than developing an RV park.
He also claimed that the recreational camper park zone did not comply with the county’s land-use plan.
However, Eric Remington, representing Dirt2Dreams, argued that the zone did comply with the land-use plan and would bring in people who would support businesses in the area and encourage more commercial development.
Commissioner David Quinn, who represents the area where the property is located, voted against the proposal, stating that he felt he should honor the wishes of his constituents, many of whom oppose the project. He also said the project would increase traffic without generating much tax revenue.
However, Commissioners Mark Mansfield, Bob Cavanaugh, Chuck Shinn, Chris Chadwick, and Ed Wheatly voted in favor of the proposal. Cavanaugh and Shinn had previously voted against the rezoning in 2021, but said after the public hearing that they were now satisfied that the project was compatible with the county’s land-use plan.