Committee backs ZTA 24-02 to permit conditional campgrounds in Montgomery County's Ag Reserve and sends measure to full council

The Planning, Housing & Parks Committee on July 22 recommended the County Council approve Zoning Text Amendment 24-02, a measure to allow campgrounds as a conditional use in agricultural and rural zones, and forwarded the amended draft to the full council by a unanimous 3-0 show of hands.

Miss Nadeau, presenting the staff report, said the ZTA would allow campgrounds "in the AR zone as well as in the RC zone" and clarified existing campsite standards in some R zones. She summarized key limits in the proposal: the campsite area would be limited to the lesser of 10% or 5 acres of a property under the original draft (planning later recommended reducing that to 5% or 5 acres, whichever is smaller), a 100-foot setback from neighboring property lines and 125 feet from the center of public rights-of-way, and a maximum sleeping-structure gross floor area of 200 square feet. Miss Nadeau also noted state law requires DPS approval for sanitation systems.

"The campground must be 100 feet from any neighboring property line and 125 feet from the center of public right-of-way," Miss Nadeau said during the presentation.

Committee members and agency staff agreed on several amendments before the vote. They removed vague and potentially confusing language that would have barred "drilling holes in the ground" and instead prohibited permanent foundations and the pouring of concrete for sleeping accommodations, while explicitly allowing relocatable or removable sleeping structures that are not permanently attached to the soil. DPS staff said raised platforms or decks that already meet building-code thresholds and permit requirements may remain allowable if the owner obtains the required permits.

Planning staff and committee sponsors also endorsed several environmental and operational safeguards: campsites and overnight accommodations will be prohibited within stream buffers and flood plains, and the cutting down of trees "for this use" will be prohibited; sanitation facilities must meet DPS requirements; and noise complaints remain enforceable under the county's Chapter 31B noise ordinance enforced by DEP.

Planning recommended the maximum consecutive stay be increased from two nights to three nights to reduce turnover and related vehicle movements; the committee accepted that amendment. Planning also proposed reducing the maximum acreage used for campgrounds to 5% of the parcel or 5 acres, whichever is smaller, and council staff supported that change.

The ZTA includes a reporting requirement: planning must prepare an impact report no later than Dec. 31, 2027, or within six months after the county has received the fifth application for the use, whichever is sooner. The report should include the number of applications and approvals, inspection results, acres of agricultural land used for campgrounds, soil classification for sites used and any available economic data. Staff added DPS, the Office of Agriculture and the Office of Zoning and Administrative Hearings to the report team.

Council members and sponsors emphasized that the ZTA creates a conditional-use process that allows the hearing examiner to tailor site-specific protections, including conditions on the placement and operation of campsites to protect nearby properties and environmental resources.

Committee members raised operational questions about enforcement and the status of RVs, noting that recreational vehicles are already allowed in the zones but become a conditional commercial use if operators collect fees for overnight stays under the ZTA. DPS confirmed inspections for conditional uses are complaint-driven, and approvals may be revoked if violations go uncorrected.

After accepting the staff and planning board amendments discussed in the work session, the committee voted to approve ZTA 24-02 as amended and recommend it to the full council for consideration.

The measure will next go to the full County Council where it will follow the normal public hearing and legislative review process.