Maggie Valley mayor sets the record straight

Jul. 5—MAGGIE VALLEY — After reflecting on the punishing actions N.C. Rep. Mark Pless is trying to impose on his town, Maggie Valley Mayor Mike Eveland is certain the issue boils down to two things — politics and arrogance.

The mayor traces the power play back to a warning from Pless two years ago that if the town enacted an RV park moratorium, there would be consequences. Those consequences have now arrived on the eve of election season — with the mayor and husband-and-wife duo Phillip and Tammy Wight all up for re-election in November, Eveland said.

The Maggie Valley town board passed a targeted moratorium in January 2022 that temporarily halted new permits for campgrounds and RV parks in a 3-to-2 vote, with the Wights on the opposing side.

The town board was arguably acting on a mandate from voters. Development — namely how much was too much — was the top campaign issue in the fall election just two months prior, and the winning candidates were vocal supporters of land-use planning and RV park restrictions.

The Wights hadn't been on the ballot in 2021, however, and are up for re-election this year. Pless' recent statements are full-throated defenses of the Wights' position, Eveland noted.

As for Pless' warning two years ago? It wasn't until the 11th hour of the 2023 legislative session that Pless acted on it.

"This bill is punishment for a moratorium on no new requests for campgrounds voted on 18 months ago and ended 13 months ago," Eveland said. "It (the bill) does not do anything to change that except tie the hands of the legally elected board of alderman until 2028."

On June 28, he pulled a bill swap — substituting the language from one bill that would increased tourism room tax in Haywood County with new language that ties the hands of the Maggie Valley governing board when it comes to certain zoning issues.

Pless's bill would strip the town of the power change the zoning of any property without the written approval of the property owner, to impose moratoriums and to enforce development regulations in the extraterritorial jurisdiction.

Pless accused the town board members — except for Phillip and Tammy Wight — of being depraved, going rogue, acting illegally and trampling on the rights of residents.

Looking back

The number of campgrounds and RV parks was a hot-button issue in Maggie's 2021 election. A post-election survey conducted by the Maggie Valley Chamber of Commerce showed that three-fourths of the respondents said there were enough campgrounds in town, and more than half said they would not favor luxury resort campgrounds.

The issue has also been part of numerous public discussions in the community, including packed-house public hearings, Eveland said.

"The attempt to label the Maggie Valley Board of Alderman as depraved and going rogue is vindictive and is not true," Eveland said, noting support for the town's actions from the public.

The issue was entangled with controversy surrounding Frankie Wood, the purported savior of Ghost Town. Wood was among those wanting to build an RV park at the time. Critics of the moratorium claimed town leaders cooked it up as a scheme to thwart Wood.

During his press conference, Pless said he read through the town's recently passed land-use plan and found that everything was allowed except RV parks.

That's not true, however, Eveland said, noting RV parks and campgrounds are allowed in two Maggie Valley zoning districts with a special-use permit.

A bit of history

After the 2021 election, Eveland said, four campground or RV park permits were applied for in January 2022. Maggie Valley town board members Phillip and Tammy Wight were among the permit applicants. The others involved Frankie Wood.

This prompted the board to consider and later adopt a targeted moratorium — something recommended by the town's attorney, who is widely recognized for his expertise in land-use issues.

"The intent of this legal moratorium would allow the board to make findings of fact, review current laws and ordinances of other local governments, and receive public comment to identify possible changes to development regulations associated with campgrounds/RVs. Any property owner that had already been approved for a RV park was not impacted," Eveland said.

If Pless' bill passes the House on July 12 when it is scheduled for a final vote, the Maggie Valley governing board will be unable to enforce any of its zoning or land-use plans in the one-mile area beyond the town limits like almost all other municipalities in North Carolina.

"This attack on the voters of Maggie Valley and the elected board of aldermen by Rep. Pless will not keep me from representing and protecting the citizens of Maggie Valley. Like it or not the future is here. Like it or not, Maggie Valley is growing," Eveland said. "We stand united in our beliefs and in our vision. We stand strong with our friends in Waynesville, Canton, Clyde and throughout Haywood County."

Planning board review

This all comes on the heels of over half a decade of work by the Maggie Valley Planning Board and Board of Aldermen to bring their unified development ordinance up to snuff.

The UDO had last been updated in 1998 and needed a face lift — especially in light of state legislation requiring municipalities to update their development regulations and land-use plans.

When the new UDO was approved and took effect in June of 2022, the moratorium on RV parks was lifted.

Eveland said it was ironic that the development ordinance rewrite was required by the state, and now Haywood's only state representative has decided to single out just one town in his district for doing what the state required.

Maggie Valley Planning Board Chairman Rick Helfers said the board was front and center during the ordinance changes and reviewed the UDO line by line. The updates followed state guidelines to the "T."

During Pless' press conference, he said said the bill, which will be considered by the full house next week without a review of the wholesale changes made in the Senate, could be changed if people did as he asked and started talking to each other and compromising.

Helfers disputes allegations that people weren't listened to and that compromises weren't reached. He cited more than 10 community meetings that were held to both explain the process and listen to public concerns.

In response to the concerns, changes were made, and the final document not only complies with state law but is a reflection of what the community generally agreed upon.

"We had to take into consideration things like environmental concerns regarding building too near a flood area or on steep slopes, Helfers said. "There were other concerns such as packing too many houses into areas that should have fewer or how many RV parks need to be along the road before they become the style of Maggie Valley."

Local residents want to have the small town experience offered in Maggie Valley, not to be sandwiched between trailer parks that aren't shielded from the road, Helfers said about the challenge of balancing property owner rights with the public interest.

He said the entire board, including the Wights, are concerned about the measured growth of Maggie Valley, something that is sometimes in conflict with what a property owner wants.