A dispute between the owner of McGeorge Rolling Hills RV Supercenter and Hanover County, Va. reached the Virginia Supreme Court Tuesday.
EMAC LLC, which owns the land where McGeorge Rolling Hills is located, sued the county in June 2014, claiming the Board of Supervisors discriminated against them when it approved a permit application from an outlet mall developer for an LED sign that would be used for advertising but not an application for a second sign submitted by the nearby dealership, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reports.
A circuit court judge dismissed the case in Sept. 2014, but the Supreme Court granted an appeal from EMAC in May. If the state’s highest court decides in EMAC’s favor, the case will be sent back to the trial court.
In 2012, the board granted a conditional use permit for two large LED signs located 3,000 feet apart on Northlake Park, which encompasses the planned 43-acre outlet mall, the RV center, a Harley-Davidson dealership and other retailers. One sign would be on the north side of Northlake Park and another on the south side, where EMAC is located. Northlake Land Investments Inc. and outlet developer Craig Realty jointly applied for that permit.
Under a county ordinance regulating signs advertising destination commerce, or businesses where people will travel a long distance to get to, only sites with at least 100 acres are allowed signs. The county also requires that conditional use permits be used within a year.
The signs can’t be built until construction on the outlet starts, so a permit for the signs was renewed in 2013. When it came time to renew in 2014, the county granted an extension request from Northlake and Craig Realty for the sign to the north, but denied a separate application for the southern sign located on the property of the RV business.