ROCKY MOUNT -- The controversial LakeWatch Spa and Resort project was vehemently opposed by residents of Betty Creek who packed the auditorium of Benjamin Franklin Middle School in Rocky Mount on Tuesday night for the Franklin County planning commission meeting.

Before a crowd of nearly 150, the Franklin County Planning Commission couldn't decide whether to support the plan or deny it.

In a 3-3 tie, commission members Johnnie Metz, David Wiseman and Sherrie Mitchell voted against the plan, while Edmund Law, Earl Webb and Ed Greer voted to approve it.

Commission member Robert Camicia, who has been a vocal opponent of the plan, was absent.

The final decision on whether to reject or approve the proposal now rests with the Franklin County Board of Supervisors, which will vote on it at its Oct. 23 meeting, which will also be held at the middle school.

County resident David Phelps said the development was a good resort plan, but a bad location.

"It just doesn't belong there," Phelps said. "If you allow this development, you will set a precedent for Franklin County that you will regret."

The project, which is intended to accompany the already approved LakeWatch Plantation development, is located on Virginia 122 west of Hales Ford Bridge and east of the Westlake shopping area.

The proposal, submitted by developer Trey Park, has been revised twice, and voting has been continued twice before Tuesday night's vote.

Earlier revisions changed the proposal from a planned commercial development to a planned residential development along with reducing the size of the development from 605 acres to 576.

The revisions also eliminated commercial development along Virginia 122 and lowered the number of stories of the condominium unit from seven to five.

The latest revision contains 15 deviations from the residential planned development proposal, including a restaurant for the five-story condominium unit, a 2,000-square-foot spa facility, a 24,000-square-foot community center that will charge usage fees and a 6,000-square-foot boat and golf storage building.

The multimillion-dollar proposal does not fully comply with the guidelines of the county's 2025 comprehensive plan, however, said Steve Sandy, acting planning director.

"The majority of the property is located in low residential [density zoning], and the majority of the commercial development is located there," Sandy said, explaining that this violates the comprehensive plan. In a 30-minute presentation to the commission, Park's lawyer Clyde Perdue detailed how the proposal is in compliance with the comprehensive plan.

Perdue said many of the alterations -- including placing the clubhouse and the 18th hole of the golf course near Betty Creek rather than near the condominium units -- were made in response to residents who wanted the project to appear more residential.