The Pennington County Planning Commission voted Aug. 25 to approve three conditional use permit reviews for a property at 13514 S. Highway 16 owned by RNJ LLC, approving an RV park (CUR19-28), a wedding venue and event center (CUR21-61) and a caretaker residence (COCUR24-0015) with conditions staff added after neighbor complaints and site inspections.

Staff and commissioners said the property prompted multiple complaints this year about noise, lighting and smoke. Assistant Planning Director Jason Thennison said staff opened a county violation (25-036) after complaints were filed July 7 and that he “performed an after hours site inspection because I wanted to see the conditions when it was dark” to validate the reports. He told the commission he accompanied county commissioners on on-site visits and met with complainants at their homes.

The commission’s action follows staff changes negotiated with the property owner and agent, Justin Eisenbaum, and additional conditions added by staff. Those measures include earlier quiet hours for events, limits on outdoor amplified sound and hospitality practices, added leash rules for the RV park, restrictions on helicopter landings for events, and steps to reduce light spill and open doors during music events. Thennison said staff added a lodging-policy requirement that RV guests sign a leash rule at check-in and that the owner added a monetary fine for off-leash violations that staff recorded as $40 per occurrence.

Neighbors told the commission they remain troubled. Corey Tennant, representing resident Sarah Hunter, said recent weekend weddings produced amplified public-address audio audible from Hunter’s back porch and described late-night partying and smoke that prompted sheriff calls. “We’re not asking to shut it down. We’re asking for balance, for fairness, for the rules to be enforced so that residents can once again experience the quiet enjoyment of their homes,” Tennant said.

Commissioners discussed enforcement limits. Staff said substantiated complaints are handled through county violation procedures; Thennison described the complaint-substantiation process as the trigger for a review and possible enforcement. Commissioners and speakers noted that neither county planning staff nor the commission directly supply law-enforcement staffing or decibel meters; enforcement commonly relies on the sheriff’s office and on the property owner meeting permit conditions.

After discussion, the commission approved the RV park review per staff recommendation with 17 conditions, the wedding venue review with 19 conditions and the caretaker residence with seven conditions. The RV park approval will be forwarded to the Pennington County Board of Commissioners for final consideration on Sept. 2; the wedding-venue and caretaker-residence reviews stop with the planning commission. The commission also considered and declined a request from neighbors to postpone hearing of new video evidence because staff and applicant notification requirements for packet materials were not met in time.

The commission spent extended time on the item, including an executive session with legal counsel to consider procedural and legal questions raised during public comment. Commissioners said further complaints and any substantiated violations can trigger follow-up reviews under the county’s violation process.

The property is 19.42 acres and is zoned highway service district; the staff report and motion summaries are in the planning packet for this meeting. Neighbors and the applicant agreed to some mitigations during the review; enforcement and further modifications will depend on compliance with the permit conditions and any additional complaints.

The planning commission’s approvals put the permits in force with the listed conditions; the RV park will next appear on the county commissioners’ agenda Sept. 2 for final action.