Planning staff recommend percolation testing and engineered septic for Base Camp Pitt subdivision; applicant pledges neighbor protections

Crawford County planning staff recommended percolation testing and engineered septic-system designs for a proposed four-lot subdivision filed by Base Camp Pitt LLC, and planning board members and the applicant described neighbor-protection measures they say will limit trespass and preserve water resources.

"This lot will gain being taken out of the flood zone," Zoning Administrator Mae Smith said while presenting the proposal for parcels described in the record as 1080 and 1092 on 5th/30th Avenue. Smith told the commission that Lot 4 already has a permitted wastewater system and about 1.2 usable acres, and that planning and zoning would grant a site-based waiver for Lot 3 if the county sanitarian approves an engineered design and percolation test because Lot 3 does not meet the typical two-acre minimum in county regulations.

Planning and zoning recommended the following conditions before a building permit would be issued: a percolation (perk) test for Lots 2 and 3; an engineered septic design submitted to the zoning office and reviewed by the county sanitarian; and covenants recorded with the subdivision that disclose those requirements to future buyers. "If that point approved, I can issue a [building] permit for these two months," Smith said, describing the review process and contingency language placed in the planning record.

Applicant Jeremy Feiler, who identified himself as a managing partner of the Base Camp Pitt LLC ownership group, described outreach to neighboring property owners and said the owners have put rules in place for any short-term rental operation on the property. "You're gonna get two forms right in your face and then we've also we're working on a placard for the house. So you're gonna have three forms of ... no trespassing," Feiler said, describing check-in instructions and signage intended to prevent trespass on adjacent water features that neighbors own.

Feiler told the commission he and his partners had invested in cleanup and road and drainage work and had improved driveways to county standards; he said they had spent substantial money on property improvements and sought to sell one or more lots while maintaining high standards for access and septic design.

During the meeting a commissioner moved to accept resolution 2025-014 regarding the subdivision; the motion appears in the transcript, but the provided excerpt does not show a recorded second or final vote on that motion. Planning-and-zoning conditions described in the record will be required for future permits: percolation testing and an engineered septic design reviewed by the county sanitarian were specifically cited by staff as prerequisites.