Pacific planning staff to host workshop on campground standards; no applicants yet

Planning staff briefed the City of Pacific Planning & Zoning Commission on the city’s lack of detailed campground standards and the commission scheduled a workshop to develop guidelines.

Tiffany Wilson, a planning staff member, told commissioners the city’s current zoning allows campgrounds as a permitted use with a conditional-use permit in C1, C2 and M1 districts but that the municipal code contains no campground-specific standards. “So anybody who wanted to basically build a campground in city limits would then have to abide by the codes of C1, C2,” Wilson said, noting the need to define campground types and develop standards such as minimum size, campsite density, pad sizes, parking, comfort stations and dump stations.

Wilson said she had collected model language from other municipalities — including St. Clair, Union, Washington (Ga.), Ferguson and Eureka — and recommended the commission take time to research and craft local standards rather than rush. Commissioners discussed practical items that a local standard would need to address: minimum acreage (staff cited that KOA-style parks typically require about 10 acres), campsites per acre (commonly 10 to 15), hookups and comfort-station requirements, and whether tent camping or only RV/trailer camping would be allowed.

Commissioners and staff agreed to hold a workshop at the July 22 meeting to review collected standards and draft guidelines. Staff committed to email KOA and state-park standards and other municipal examples before the workshop. Wilson also said the parks committee is revising its parks-code language on overnight camping in city parks; commissioners discussed inviting park committee members to the workshop so the various codes align.

No applicant is currently seeking to establish a campground in city limits, Wilson said. The commission tabled formal code changes and will pursue the workshop and subsequent meetings to develop draft ordinance language.