A Superior Court Judge is expected to make a ruling no later than next week on a controversial RV park proposed by developers in Smithfield.
Superior Court Judge Jeff Foster of Pitt County presided over the lengthy hearing Monday in a Johnston County courtroom. Approximately 80 people attended the hearing, including supporters and opponents.
Last October, Theron Lee McLamb of Smithfield appeared before the Smithfield Town Council seeking permission to open a 148 space RV park and 48 cabin rentals on 33 acres of land he owns on Venture Drive behind the Outlet Center and adjacent to the Pine Acres Subdivision. Following a four hour public hearing, that at times was contentious, the town council voted 4-to-2 to reject the RV park.
McLamb’s attorney, Chip Hewett of Selma, filed a lawsuit against the Town of Smithfield in December appealing the decision. Hewett and Smithfield Town Attorney Bob Spence presented evidence for more than two hours on Monday.
Spence contends the town council was justified in denying the permit last October saying it posed a compatibility issue with residents in the long-established Pine Acres Subdivision and an RV park would be inconsistent with adjacent land uses in the area. He also pointed out the RV park developer had proposed a buffer adjacent to Pine Acres that was substantially inadequate.
Judge Foster said he wanted to review the October video of the four hour public hearing and read all the materials presented to him Monday by both sides before making a ruling.
