Twentynine Palms planning commission recommends changes to mobile-home, RV and campground rules

The Twentynine Palms Planning Commission voted 3–1 to forward amendments to DCA chapter 19.124 — the city's rules for mobile-home parks, RV parks and campgrounds — to the City Council, with changes the commission adopted during the hearing.

Community Development staff told the commission the package began as a code cleanup but expanded after multiple study sessions and recommended adjustments including a 10-acre minimum lot size for certain park types, defining space dimensions, requiring common laundry facilities in mobile-home parks, and a 50-foot setback from property lines for campgrounds and RV parks. Staff recommended finding the amendment exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act and forwarding a recommendation to council.

The proposal drew public comment from local residents and industry representatives who warned that strict minimum parcel sizes and low allowable densities would make projects economically infeasible. "With the limited number of parcels and the restrictive size and then the restrictive number of units per parcel, it basically limits any kind of affordable housing development," said Philip Georgiadis, who identified himself as an affordable-housing manufacturer. George Melopoulos said limiting campgrounds to tourist-commercial and public zones — and cutting density to 5 spaces per acre while imposing a 50-foot setback — would remove large portions of usable land and make many parcels unusable for camping projects.

Commissioners debated several numeric options for RV and campground density. Staff noted the city's existing RV park totals about 168 spaces on roughly 17 acres (about 9.88 spaces per acre); commissioners argued for higher maximums so projects can be viable and still meet safety and amenity requirements during conditional-use-permit review. Several commissioners said a higher maximum does not force a developer to build to that density but allows feasible proposals to be considered. After discussion, commissioners said they were comfortable setting a working maximum density of 15 spaces per acre for RV parks and campgrounds, subject to CUP review and required safety and amenity findings.

The commission also clarified that mobile-home parks would remain permitted in residential zones, while campgrounds and RV parks are intended as transient, commercially operated uses that would pay transient-occupancy tax; staff said specific permit fees and TOT application language can be clarified in the ordinance.

A motion to find the project exempt from CEQA, adopt the resolution with the changes agreed upon at the hearing, and forward a recommendation to the City Council carried 3'1. Commissioner Paul Hanna voted no. The motion instructed staff to reflect the commission's direction in the final amendment packet to council.

The director also noted staff would prepare any requested clarifications (for example, referencing the city's outdoor-lighting code and making TOT applicability explicit) and briefed the commission on an upcoming outreach workshop on entertainment regulations. The commission adjourned after briefly discussing meeting-calendar changes.