Eaton County planning commission tables Sherwood Forest Campground change request as health, permitting questions remain

The Eaton County Planning Commission on Dec. 3 voted to table until its January meeting a change‑of‑conditions request from Jeff and Carrie Wills for Sherwood Forest Campground, citing outstanding questions from the Barry‑Eaton District Health Department, missing permits for on‑site restroom facilities and a Walton Township request for clearer site plans and discussion.

The applicants requested eleven clarifications and changes to a 2015 conditional‑use permit that authorizes operation of a commercial recreation facility (campground) and a construction‑contractor/property‑maintenance business on a 55‑acre parcel at Campground Drive in Walton Township. The list included converting several existing “rustic” cabins to “resort” cabins (which include plumbing), adding up to 11 future resort cabin sites, a roughly 300‑square‑foot addition to an existing resort cabin, construction of a 400‑square‑foot woodshed, permanent plumbing for portable restroom/showers, allowance for outdoor equipment storage near existing barns and the option to rent the manager’s residence.

Why it matters: the proposed conversions and new resort cabins would change wastewater and plumbing demands on an existing septic system; the Barry‑Eaton District Health Department told the commission that some proposed resort cabins would require individual septic systems rather than connection to the campground’s existing system. The commission cited potential conflict with the county master plan’s agricultural‑preservation designation and asked for clearer plans and township review before taking action.

Staff summary and health‑department concerns Brandy Miller, planning staff, summarized the application and the county’s file history, noting prior approvals that authorized up to 92 campsites and several previously approved resort cabins and a manager’s house (up to 1,400 square feet). Miller read comments from the Barry‑Eaton District Health Department indicating that the recently issued tank permit was sized for campsites (roughly 75 gallons per day per site) and not for full resort cabins, which the health department said are more like residential units and typically require larger septic tanks (for example, a three‑bedroom house requires a 1,000‑gallon tank and sizeable drain field under current rules).

David Como, environmental health supervisor for the Barry‑Eaton District Health Department, told the commission he recently inspected the existing drain field and found it "clean and dry at this point," but said his office’s concern is the risk of overloading the system if additional full‑service cabins are added without properly sized on‑site sewage systems. "Anytime we add capacity...we need to know when that point is," Como said.

Applicant response and outstanding violations Applicant Jeff Wills told the commission the request is largely to clarify language and to identify potential sites for future resort cabins, not to build all units immediately. "We're not looking to build 11 resort cabins right away...we're just approving potential sites," Wills said. He acknowledged portable restrooms and showers already on the property were placed without prior construction or health permits and said he intends to work with the health department and county staff to resolve outstanding inspections and permit issues.

Staff and commissioners repeatedly noted that portable restroom/shower structures placed on the property currently cannot be permitted until the planning commission addresses the conditional‑use status. Miller told the commission the applicant may apply for plumbing permits and inspections related to the camp store hookups, but construction permits for the already placed restroom/shower buildings require planning commission approval.

Commission discussion and conditions sought Commissioners raised several recurring concerns: the potential for conversion of short‑term rental cabins into long‑term rental homes; the adequacy and location of septic and drain fields for any resort cabins; unpermitted structures and plumbing work already completed on site; and confusion at the Walton Township meeting where the township clerk read an older application summary. Several commissioners asked the applicant to produce a clearer, annotated site plan that ties each of the applicant’s 11 requests to the map, including a blown‑up plan for the pavilion/bathhouse area and a clear legend distinguishing “rustic” (no plumbing) from “resort” (with plumbing) cabins.

Next steps and action taken Commissioners voted to table the change‑of‑conditions application to the January meeting (the planning commission’s next regular meeting was scheduled for Jan. 14). Commissioners asked the applicants to attend the Walton Township board meeting on Dec. 10, to submit a revised site plan with labeled items and blown‑up detail for the pavilion/bathroom area, and to obtain plumbing permits and inspections where possible (for example, for the camp store hookups) while the broader conditional‑use request remains pending.

Votes at a glance - Motion to table CU 101525 (Sherwood Forest Campground change of conditions) to the January 14 meeting: tabled by motion and approved by voice vote; formal individual vote tallies were not recorded in the public transcript.

Context and background The property has a long file history before the Eaton County Planning Commission: an initial conditional‑use approval in 2015 authorized expansion from 71 to 100 sites and several resort cabins; subsequent change‑of‑condition requests were partially approved, denied, or modified in 2016, 2017 and 2018. The commission and staff said the project has seen multiple engineering revisions and changes in state plumbing code requirements since it began, which contributed to confusion about what was included in prior approvals and what remains to be permitted.

What remains unsettled Staff and the health department asked for clear documentation showing where proposed drain fields and any new septic systems would be located and confirmation that setbacks (for example, well isolation distances) will be met. Walton Township asked the applicants to return to its Dec. 10 meeting for clarification; commissioners said they wanted Walton Township’s input before taking final action.

The application will return to the planning commission in January after the applicant submits revised site plans and attempts to resolve outstanding permit and inspection issues.