Plain City council and parks staff engaged in an extended discussion about the village campground's length-of-stay policy, enforcement options and whether to continue winter camping. The meeting focused on balancing revenue from long-term stays against resident access, health and safety concerns and enforceability of proposed safeguards.

Staff and Parks & Recreation committee members reported that the campground’s current long-term policy is effectively a 180-day (rolling) limit and that stays longer than two weeks accounted for more than half of campground revenue in 2024. The Parks & Rec advisory committee recommended not shortening the maximum stay below three months, but council members and staff raised contrasting proposals that included 30-day or two-week limits, formal background checks for longer-term reservations and prioritization of Plain City residents.

Why it matters: Council members said the campground is intended as a recreational amenity for residents and visiting family, not as permanent housing. Several members urged prioritizing residents and reducing the length of stays that have, in some cases, extended year-round and strained staff and public-safety resources.

Key discussion points included enforcement challenges for background checks, who would be subject to them (the person on the application versus every overnight guest), and how a check would be tailored so it is narrowly tied to identified safety objectives. Chief McKee of the Plain City Police Department cautioned that background screening programs require careful design to be legally defensible, including narrowly focusing on the specific risks the village wants to mitigate and setting reasonable look‑back periods.

Staff proposed operational options: (1) keep current 180-day rolling limit, (2) shorten the maximum stay (options considered: 90 days, 30 days, two weeks), (3) require background checks for long-term reservations, (4) establish a resident-priority booking window and/or a resident discount tier, and (5) suspend winter camping to allow time to redesign policy.

On revenue, staff said long-term stays produce significant weekday revenue and that shortening the maximum stay would reduce collections; one council member estimated the village could forgo roughly $30,000–$36,000 annually under some scenarios but council members generally indicated they would prioritize residents and safety over retaining that revenue. Staff also noted there are about 56 RV sites in the campground and that summer weekends are typically full while weekdays are weaker.

Outcome: Council did not adopt new rules at the work session. Members directed staff and Parks & Rec to refine policy options, cost and revenue impacts, and legal/design parameters for background checks and to return with draft language for formal consideration at a future council meeting. Several members advocated suspending winter camping or using the winter off‑season to relaunch the program with clarified rules and resident prioritization.

Ending: Staff will prepare formal recommendations and draft ordinance/policy language for council review at the next regular meeting; no vote occurred at the work session.