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Meriwether commissioners table permit request for five-space RV site after neighbors raise safety, sanitation concerns
Summary
A request to convert a 5-acre parcel on Dan Road into a five-space RV campground drew hours of public testimony and was tabled so county staff and the applicant can address neighbors’ concerns about sewage, occupancy and enforcement.
Meriwether County commissioners on May 20 postponed a decision on a special-use application from Jacob and Elise Claire to operate a five-space RV campsite at 507 Dan Road, citing unresolved public safety and property-impact concerns raised during an extended public hearing.
The application, filed as case P2503, would reclassify a parcel advertised previously as a hunting/fishing camp into a small commercial RV camping operation. Planning staff and the county planning board reviewed the proposal and recommended approval with a list of stipulations including background checks for adults staying more than seven days, limits on length of stay and a requirement that no permanent fixtures be installed.
Neighbors urged the commission to delay approval and tighten rules. Cherry Thomas, a nearby landowner, told commissioners she had experienced trespassing and safety incidents on adjacent property and asked for strict controls to prevent long-term occupancy, repeated returns under different names, and open fires. Several other area residents raised similar points: limiting the number of people per camper, assuring trash removal and dumpster service, establishing quiet hours, and clarifying rules on hunting access from the site.
Applicant Jake Claire told the commission he believed the property had been used as an RV site when he bought it; he said he and his wife had installed a septic system and temporary power. Co-owner Elise Claire said the couple’s intent was to provide housing for traveling workers and that “we want to keep the peace. I love sitting on the back porch and listening to the cricket sing. I don't want to hear Joe Schmo's music blaring. I don't want people partying.”
County planner Cassandra (first name given in the hearing record) explained the existing local ordinance for hunting/fishing camps allows temporary seasonal uses with temporary power and that the proposal must proceed as a formal special-use request because the advertised, marketed use differs from the historic hunting-camp registration. She reviewed the planning board’s recommended conditions, including occupancy caps, quiet-hours rules and a minimum period off-site between stays.
After hearing six speakers in favor and several in opposition, commissioners voted to table the matter and asked staff to gather additional information on utility hookups and on how previous temporary-power and septic approvals were processed. The board set a follow-up public hearing for July 7, 2025 at 6 p.m., to allow the applicant and staff time to address neighbors’ safety, sanitation and enforcement concerns.
The public record on the case includes recommended stipulations from the planning board; the county emphasized that any final permit would include enforceable conditions if approved.
