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Spartanburg County approves mixed-use development

CAMPOBELLO—Spartanburg County Council approved mixed-used development and local residents opposed to a proposed RV park say the move could open up doors for unwanted development in northern Spartanburg County. 

People opposed to the proposed RV park said the move by council could allow the RV developer to do whatever they want with the property. There has been much opposition to an RV park proposed by T. Tree Farms off Landrum Mill Road in Campobello. Local residents signed a petition against the park and presented it to county council earlier this year with 600 signatures. 

The RV park is proposed to be 52 RV sites on 11.2 acres of the 38.68-acre property, with the county planning commission giving conditional approval in March. The developer of the RV park is Blue Sky Associates out of Spartanburg. 

Spartanburg County has a Unified Land Management Ordinance that regulates its development. 

The mixed-use approval last week is an amendment that includes single-family residential, apartments, townhouses, commercial and office, institutional and light industrial. The county planning commission recommended the mixed-use amendment in March, saying that at least 5 developers had made inquiries into building mixed-use projects in the county. 

The vote last week from council was 4-2, with council members Bob Walker and Mo Abusaft voting against the mixed-use amendment. Council members Jessica Coker, Justin McCorkle, Jack Mabry and David Britt voted in favor of the amendment. 

Walker and Abusaft said they do not have issues with allowing mixed use, but they wanted to wait until they understood how it could apply to the RV park that residents are opposing first. 

Britt has said the mixed-use amendment has nothing to do with the RV park and delaying the vote would negatively impact several projects that are looking to invest in Spartanburg County. 

Blue Sky Developer and Partner Bill McDaniel has said the RV park will generate little traffic, be well off the road, be screened by trees and follow all environmental regulations. 

But neighbors say the RV park will not be compatible with approximately 4,000 acres of open space that is protected by conservation easements and covenants. They also say the roads are too narrow for recreational vehicles.