Clay County Commission denies temporary use permit for RV short‑term rental in Woodhaven

The Clay County Commission voted 5-0 Thursday to deny Resolution 2025‑32, which would have allowed a recreational vehicle on 23600 Sycamore Circle in the Woodhaven subdivision to be used as a short‑term rental.

The planning director, Kip Jones, told the commission the lot is about 3 acres in a neighborhood where most lots are three to five acres and that the Land Development Code generally allows habitation of an RV only when tied to a single‑family home under construction with a permit and health‑department‑approved sewage handling. Jones said the planning department recommended denial and referred a code enforcement complaint to the Clay County Public Health Center over sewage handling.

The applicant, Michael Parrott, said he began renting the camper last year to help cover expenses after a divorce and that he worked with county staff on driveway and electrical permits. "I was looking for a way to help cover the debt that I was left with," Parrott said. He told commissioners he would run the camper waste into his septic system once he obtained necessary plumbing work.

Multiple neighbors spoke in opposition. A neighbor who lives next door said guests arrived at all hours, entered yards and sometimes left at all hours of the morning; she added that her wife felt unsafe when home alone with their son. Stacy Elder, who lives at the entrance to the neighborhood, said she observed frequent speeding, loud radios and that, in her view, gray and black water had been discharged improperly into nearby woods. Tom Williams, another neighbor, said the camper sits roughly 20 yards from the road and that odors from the discharge have forced his family to keep windows closed or leave the house.

Commissioners questioned whether short‑term stays constituted "habitation" under the Land Development Code and whether the county could permit an RV for overnight rental in a rural residential zoning district. County counsel said the typical interpretation of habitation is that a person is staying and sleeping at the location, and that the long‑term nature is not dispositive.

Commissioner Whittington moved to deny Resolution 2025‑32. The motion carried on a roll call vote: Whittington, Thompson, Carpenter, Lawson and Wagner voting yes.

Because the planning director interpreted the code to prohibit habitation in an RV except during construction of a single‑family home with appropriate sewage approvals, the commission denied the permit request. The applicant said he will leave the camper parked on the property regardless of the decision and that he intends to complete plumbing work to connect the camper to the septic system if permitted to do so in the future.