Rappahannock County supervisors expected hours of heated testimony at their public hearing on Monday night, along with a crowd of more than 100 people.

But James "Bill" Fletcher's controversial proposal to house a conference center on his 800-acre farm was actually resolved in fewer than five minutes – at least for now.

"I was expecting pretty much a dogfight," Supervisor Roger Welch (Wakefield District) said. "I was actually expecting it to go until midnight."

Standing before a crowd of nearly 135 people, Fletcher announced that he would withdraw the application, after one of his sisters, Louise Fletcher Tayloe, filed a lawsuit to dissolve the George K. Miller, Inc. that owns a portion of the 800-acre property. The corporation is owned by Fletcher and four of his sisters and the lawsuit contends that not all stockholders agreed with and/or were advised of Fletcher's plans for a conference center. The announcement drew cheers from the crowd, a majority of whom had already stood and identified themselves as Fletcher supporters.

"I'm not going to waste the county's time with a possible lawsuit," Fletcher said simply.

Fletcher had withdrawn the application on Friday afternoon, according to County Administrator John McCarthy.

The planning commission already gave their approval to the project in January. But the portion under dispute – 157 acres total – had most of the conference center's parking, a key demand from the planning commission. By removing that parcel, supervisors say the planning commission's approval no longer applied.

"If he didn't withdraw it and it went to a hearing, our recommendation would have been to vote it down purely on the basis of not complying with the site plan," McCarthy said.

Afterward, Fletcher denied that losing the parcel had any effect on the overall application.

"I'm not sure where the property line is, and I'm not going to file a lawsuit or waste the county's time tonight," Fletcher said.

The long-time Rappahannock resident has owned the property, George Miller Farm, for close to 30 years.

Fletcher alleges that the farm no longer produces enough revenue through farming to cover expenses. Leasing the property and the 8,000-square-foot manor house to an events-booking firm would keep it in the family, he said.

The planning commission approved his special lease permit to do so in January by a 4-2 vote. That should have sent the measure to county supervisors in February for a final approval.

But the planning commission added several restrictions, which Fletcher called too limiting. In March he asked that his hearing before the supervisors be delayed while he looked for "other avenues."

Affordable housing was one such possibility. Fletcher even placed a trailer on his property, and said that he could put more there as part of his plans to build affordable housing. Under Rappahannock County code, Fletcher could place 14 housing units on 700 acres of property.

Opponents argued that a conference center would disturb the peace, threaten historic landmarks and lead to more commercial projects being approved.

Supporters argued that a conference center could actually save Fletcher's property from development, and would have little impact on the neighbors.

After the meeting, Fletcher declined to say when he would resubmit his application. He also declined to say whether he would still push for a conference center, but added that he had "other buy-right options to make the farm sustainable."

However, he favored the conference center.

"The conference center is the best one for Rappahannock County," Fletcher said. "Because it would employ local people and bring tourist dollars in at no cost to the county."