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Benton County board adopts ordinance clarifying rules for campgrounds and resorts
Summary
The Benton County Board adopted an amendment to the county development code to add specific use standards and definitions for campgrounds and resorts, aligning local rules with Minnesota Department of Health licensing and shoreland regulations.
Benton County commissioners on May 20 adopted an ordinance amending the county development code to add specific definitions and standards for campgrounds and resorts.
The ordinance, developed with input from the county planning commission and modeled on Minnesota Department of Health licensing requirements and shoreland statutory rules, added definitions for "recreational campground," "recreational camping vehicle" and "resort," moved campground uses out of the County's commercial recreation definition and created Section 9.28 with use standards including site plan and design criteria, setbacks, minimum campsite sizes, seasonal licensing (April 1–Oct. 31), sewage and toilet standards, parking, screening, emergency access and operations plans.
County staff said the changes are intended to make permit expectations clear to property owners, planning commission members and the public. The ordinance allows campgrounds and resorts in Agricultural, Rural Agricultural and Commercial zoning by conditional use permit to avoid concentrating overnight uses only in a few business corridors, county staff said.
During the public hearing there were no written comments, no township or city objections reported and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources said it had no concerns about the shoreland corrections. A commissioner asked whether an existing local operation, identified in the meeting transcript as "2 Rivers Campground," had been notified; staff said it had not been required to be notified and that the operation was not supposed to have overnight guests under its current practice. No audience members spoke for or against the ordinance at the hearing.
The board voted to approve the ordinance after staff presentation and discussion.
The ordinance makes no licensing change beyond clarifying county procedure and does not impose requirements stricter than Minnesota Department of Health licensing, staff said. The rule package specifies seasonal use dates, standards for accessory facilities (showers, laundry), site grading and drainage, refuse plans, listings of overnight guests, caretaker contact, severe-weather shelter, and allowance of pets. It also reconciles Benton County's historical treatment of planned unit developments (PUD/CUP) with shoreland conditional-use requirements.
County staff said the drafting began in January after prior months of discussions and a review of neighboring counties' regulations. The planning commission reviewed the draft before the board's public hearing.
The board chair closed the public hearing and carried the motion to approve the ordinance.
