Madison County planners hold first workshop on primitive campground application for Polly of the Blue Ridge

Madison County planning staff held a first workshop on an application by Anne Gore (filed on behalf of Rebecca Gore) for a special use permit to operate a primitive campground on a 118.273-acre parcel identified as Madison County tax map 56-7A.

The application describes a vintage camper used episodically as a short-term rental on a property zoned A-1; planning staff said the unit lacks an internal bathroom so the proposal is being processed as a “primitive campground” under Madison County Zoning Ordinance, Article 15-a. Alan (county planner) told the commission that VDOT provided no comments and that the health department suggested either connecting to the nearby house septic or permitting a pit privy; he said he was still waiting for the health department’s written comments. “This particular unit does not have a bathroom in it. So it’s simply just a sink,” Alan said.

Why it matters: the commission is treating the request as a use that raises public-health, wastewater and building-safety questions despite the small scale of the proposal. Commissioners pressed staff on whether the vintage camper is personal property (and therefore mobile) and on how graywater would be handled. Commissioner Whitman asked directly whether the unit would be permanently affixed and how it would be taxed; Alan replied that the camper is personal property that the owner takes to other locations occasionally.

Key details and outstanding items: the applicant told the commission she currently supplies power with an extension cord from a nearby shop and has a 10‑gallon portable container for graywater. The health department reportedly “was uncomfortable with the idea of the outhouse” and suggested options that include tying plumbing to the house septic or permitting a pit privy by permit; staff said they expect written guidance before the next workshop. The county’s building and life-safety staff (William/Wilkes) submitted a recommended condition that the county perform a life-safety inspection prior to any short-term rental use.

Discussion versus direction: commissioners asked factual and process questions during the workshop and did not take a vote. Staff committed to obtaining written health‑department guidance and to returning the case for a second workshop with clarifying information on graywater handling, any required life‑safety inspection, and whether electrical hookups should be upgraded from an extension cord to an RV-style disconnect.

What’s next: staff said the applicant and staff will provide the outstanding items and the case will return for continued review at a second workshop. The applicant did not request immediate action, and no formal permit decision was made at the meeting.