Plain City directs staff to limit Pastime Park stays to 30 days, adds resident-only reservation window

Plain City Council directed staff on Nov. 10 to implement changes to Pastime Park Campground operations that will limit individual stays to 30 days with a required 14-day absence between stays, establish a winter closure beginning Jan. 1, 2026, and create a resident-only early reservation window.

The changes came after staff presented a memorandum of recommendations. Village Administrator Haley Lupton summarized the plan and Parks Director Linda Granger outlined operational details: the proposed 30-day stay limit would cap effective annual occupancy at roughly 120 days, staff recommends allowing campers who stay fewer than 30 days to return sooner than the full 14-day absence, and in-person proof-of-residency would be required for the early reservation period planned to begin in December.

Visitor Robert Gugel urged the council to retain the existing 180-day limit and said the Village should consider non-regulatory approaches before cutting stays: "I am supportive of maintaining the existing 180-day stay limit," he said, while also noting that a winter closure that begins in early December rather than early November might be preferable. He recommended exploring an RV-age standard, saying "RVs ten years or older may not stay within the campground," a rule he said is common elsewhere.

Parks Assistant Denton Kitts confirmed staff already applies an age-based RV standard to long-term stays and said non-reservable sites help manage high-traffic weekends. Council members debated the number of non-reservable sites, with Mr. Terry and others supporting a reduction from five to two to free sites for resident reservations in the December window.

Council discussed whether to allow designated long-term sites and how the proposed absence period might affect weekend users. Councilmember T. Harriman referenced municipal and state practices in Ohio, noting many public campgrounds impose two-week limits or a 14-day rolling limit and that Pastime Park's low prices and proximity to Columbus-area communities increased demand since about 2018. Mayor Jody Carney advocated raising non-resident rates to offset revenue impacts from shorter stays.

After discussion, Council directed staff to proceed with the staff recommendations: implement the 30-day stay limit with a required 14-day absence, institute the winter closure effective Jan. 1, 2026, set a resident-only early in-person reservation period (tentatively in December) and reduce non-reservable sites from five to two. Staff will return with the legislative changes needed to formalize the new operating procedure.

Next steps: staff will prepare ordinance or administrative-rule language implementing Council's direction and bring it through the legislative process for formal adoption; Council signaled support for maintaining resident rates while considering higher non-resident fees to offset revenue changes.