Jackson County board tables request for six private campsites at Sargent property

The Jackson County Board of Adjustment on May 27 tabled a special-exception application from property owner Daniel Sargent that would create six privately operated campsites on land zoned A-1 agriculture at 18237 Highway 62.

The request — filed as Docket 205-03 — sought a special exception to allow a campground use in A-1. Sargent told the board he recently “bought a bulldozer, put in the pond in my property” and has begun installing gravel pads and electricity where he would locate the sites. He said the campsites would be for friends and family, not for public rental: “No money in transaction. This is just something that I decided I wanted to do for family.”

Neighbors and renters of adjacent properties told the board they were concerned about noise, ATVs, septic disposal and whether the use could later become commercial. Austin Debbie, who said he rents ground owned by Dennis and Vicky Feldman, asked about limits on duration, “Is there anything that’s gonna stop them from, you know, just being saying, hey, I have a camper. I’m just gonna live here?” He also raised runoff risks to a spring-fed creek on nearby land and asked what would prevent improper disposal of gray and black water.