Valley County hearing continued after residents raise access, traffic and commercial-use concerns at Pilgrim Cove Camp

At a Valley County planning hearing Sept. 24, commissioners heard opposition from neighbors to a conditional‑use permit update sought by Pilgrim Cove Camp and agreed to continue the public hearing to Oct. 29 at 1:30 p.m., staff said.

Meredith Todd, city and sustainability planner for the city of McCall, told the commission that the applicants asked to continue so they could respond in writing to recent public comments and review the audio recording of today’s testimony. Todd recommended taking public testimony at the hearing and continuing the matter to the October date because the application was already noticed as open.

Neighbors and a homeowners association representative said the camp’s current events and rental activity have exceeded its historic use as a youth summer camp and have increased traffic, noise and wear on private roads. Fred Shoemaker, who identified himself as the longest‑standing member and immediate past president of the Cove Association Inc., said he and his wife own a cabin at 2084 John Alden Lane and oppose the permit because of "increased wear and tear" on association roads and the "increased traffic and risk to pedestrians and bicyclists." Shoemaker said the association paid $88,443 for road maintenance and snow removal last year and budgeted $90,000 for the current year.

Shoemaker also said Pilgrim Cove Camp has shifted from a summer youth program to an event venue. "According to the Cove Camp's website, the event center fee is $9,000 for 2 nights, and up to 50 guests with additional guests paying a $110 per person," he said, adding that the camp canceled its summer youth program this year.

Neighbor Judith Leester, who lives at 1073 Plymouth Road, said negotiations with the camp addressed several of her concerns and that the camp agreed to move a proposed pavilion farther from her property. "They have agreed to move that pavilion to a space more in the interior of their property," Leester said, and she described the revised location and cabin placements as acceptable to her.

An attorney who identified herself as Ms. Soper told the commission that many of the same concerns Shoemaker raised had been submitted during earlier city hearings and that the applicant had made some changes in response. "It does appear to be more of a commercial operation," Soper said regarding the change in the camp’s uses, and she urged the commission to require the conditions recommended by staff.

Commissioners asked several procedural and legal questions during the hearing, focussing on road ownership and access. Todd said there is no written access agreement between the camp and the Cove Association and that the camp is not a paying member of the association; that access appears to derive from the original plat notes for the Pilgrim Cove subdivision and later replats, but staff were not prepared to resolve legal easement questions at the hearing.

With unresolved questions about private‑road access, maintenance responsibilities and the extent of the camp’s commercial activity, the commission agreed to continue the public hearing to Oct. 29 so applicants can provide additional written materials and legal information. The commission did not render a final decision on the conditional‑use permit at the Sept. 24 session.