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Board debates River Run Campground expansion: neighbors cite density and staffing concerns; staff reports compliance for 2024 season
Summary
A request by River Run Campground owner Jeremy Baldwin to finalize an expansion and align permit terms returned to supervisors after staff reported the site met 2024 conditions; neighbors raised concerns about high people-per-site density, RV parking and staffing; applicant says he will hire 3'4 additional staff if expansion granted.
Cassie Clatterbuck, planning staff, reviewed the status of River Run Campground's special-use permit (SUP) and a pending request from owner Jeremy Baldwin. Clatterbuck said Baldwin had previously applied to expand the campground (original application sought more new primitive sites and cabins), and the board earlier approved half of that expansion (40 new primitive sites and four new cabins) on a one-year conditional basis.
Clatterbuck said staff had: (1) required the applicant to provide weekly occupancy logs for the 2024 season; (2) performed unannounced spot inspections on weekends and along Carville Road for litter and other complaints; (3) confirmed campground rules are posted in English and Spanish and that signs prohibiting fireworks are posted; and (4) found no fireworks or noise complaints during the 2024 season dates reviewed. She said staff recommended the board carefully consider enforceable conditions if the board approves more expansion and noted that any violation of conditions across existing or new sites would be enforced.
Several supervisors summarized constituent concerns at length: neighbors and citizens reported high people-per-site counts (presented logs suggested some sites had 8'10 people), annual or long-term RV parking adjacent to the primitive sites, and relatively small staff levels on high-volume holiday weekends. Supervisors asked Baldwin to explain staffing; Baldwin said staffing varied by weekend and could be two to three on typical weekends and five to seven on holidays; he said he would hire at least three to four additional staff if the board granted further expansion.
Supervisors pressed about density and site acreage, noting the developed bottom portion of the property is more limited than some other regional campgrounds; they discussed enforcement tools and said the county had recently added enforceable conditions to other SUPs and would conduct spot checks of campgrounds going forward. Planning staff and the applicant said trash and fireworks complaints were much reduced in 2024 compared with prior years.
Clatterbuck reported the applicant's attorney (Miss Emerson) was present and that the applicant requested (a) that newly permitted and existing sites share a single expiration date rather than staggered terms, and (b) a longer permit term (the applicant asked for 50 years, which staff noted other campgrounds had been granted). Staff said their preference was to treat the entire campground as one SUP with a single expiration date but emphasized enforcement of conditions across the entire property.
No final decision to expand beyond the board's prior conditional approval was made at the meeting; staff said an updated draft of conditions would be presented at the next board meeting and supervisors asked staff to return with clarified language on RV parking, density, staffing expectations and enforceability before the board votes.
