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Linn County board approves conditional use for private campground near Bertram
Summary
The Linn County Board of Adjustment approved conditional use PC250001 to allow a seasonal private campground with 17 campsites at 1017 Lanichville Lane, subject to conditions addressing floodplain risks, sanitation, and building permits. Vote was unanimous.
The Linn County Board of Adjustment approved Conditional Use PC250001 on Feb. 26, 2025, permitting a seasonal private campground at 1017 Lanichville Lane, near the Highway 13/Highway 30 intersection south of Bertram. The board voted in favor of staff’s recommendation, with a 3-0 roll call.
Planning staff told the board the site is about 131 acres and the campground would operate seasonally from April 1 to Oct. 31 with 17 campsites; one existing cabin on the property would remain as a nonconforming use. "This is PC 250001. This is a conditional use permit for a private campground," said Brad Weiland, planner, during the staff presentation. He said the property is largely within the floodplain and that floodplain and DNR requirements drove the need for the formal conditional-use review rather than continuation of a temporary permit.
Staff recommended approval subject to conditions aimed at reducing flood-related and other impacts. Conditions include a set of campground-manager responsibilities related to evacuations during floods, removal of several small structures in flood-prone areas, adherence to any Iowa DOT conditions if the campground seeks future expansion, and the requirement that any new permanent septic system undergo Iowa DNR review rather than local public-health review. Public-health currently has no objection to continued use of portable toilets on site; the building department requested that any new electrical hookups obtain proper permits.
The county presentation said the site had functioned as a campground under temporary permits for about 15 years and that the current proposal represents a small increase from a previous temporary limit of 10 campsites to the proposed 17. Staff noted that much of the property lies in the floodway or 100-year floodplain and that the remaining cabin could not be rebuilt in the same location if destroyed by flooding, per floodplain rules.
No members of the public spoke in opposition during the public-hearing period, and the applicant did not present additional remarks at the board table. After closing the public hearing, a board member moved to "accept the findings of fact, conclusions of law, and decision and order to approve the conditional use, as recommended by staff, Conditional Use PC250001." The motion was seconded and carried on a roll call vote: Alden — yes; Price — yes; Hoover — yes.
The staff presentation also noted a separate rezoning previously approved by the Planning and Zoning Commission that is scheduled to move to the Board of Supervisors the following week; that rezoning would remove a recreational overlay from most of the property, leaving one cabin as a nonconforming use. The board’s approval does not alter state floodplain rules or DNR authority; conditions on septic or permanent utilities still require state review where noted.
The board’s action approves the campground under the conditions listed in the staff report; the county will file the decision with the planning and development department and parties have 30 days to appeal that decision to a court of record.
