Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the CUP 2025 003 topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Applicant seeks conditional use permit for 17-site campground at 365 Foster Creek Road; hearing continued to March
Summary
Applicant Wesley Huston asked the Planning Commission to allow 17 primitive campsites on a 3.2-acre nursery at 365 Foster Creek Road, proposing a co-op model with non‑transient campers. Staff and commissioners said key details on water, sanitation and access remain unresolved and the hearing was continued to March.
The Stevenson Planning Commission reviewed Conditional Use Permit application CUP-2025-003 on Feb. 9, 2026, for a proposed 17-site primitive campground on a 3.2-acre parcel at 365 Foster Creek Road associated with Cohoperative, Inc., a nursery. Staff located the site in the Suburban Residential (SR) zone and said the commission must determine whether the use meets four code criteria including public health and safety and conformity with the comprehensive plan.
Mandy Hertel, Planner II with Skamania County Community Development, told commissioners they must conclude the project "will not endanger the public health or safety; will not substantially reduce the value of adjoining or abutting property; will be in harmony with the area in which it is located; and will be in conformity with the comprehensive plan, transportation plan, or other plan officially adopted by the council." Hertel also flagged sanitation/restroom requirements, outdoor burning rules, noise control and emergency access as topics that need clear conditions before approval.
Applicant Wesley Huston described the proposal as a farm-associated co-op where campers would work on the hop farm and "there would be no transient options." He said campers must be personally known to him and that "For 17 campsites he would allow only 6 people per site for a total of 102 people." Huston said campers would be required to provide their own sanitation and cooking facilities and that generators would be kept in self-contained vehicles; he acknowledged fire-pit use might be limited for safety reasons.
Commissioners pressed staff and the applicant on required restroom facilities, water and sewer needs, access road adequacy, visual impacts and density definitions. Commissioner Auguste Zettler said a site plan and more operational detail were missing and suggested a temporary delay to assemble parameters for a conditional approval. Zettler’s initial motion to table the decision until March died for lack of a second; a separate motion to continue the public hearing until March 2026 carried unanimously (moved by Zettler, seconded by Keesee).
The commission also agreed to send recommendations on short-term rentals to the City Council for broader consideration. The public hearing will resume in March with requested additional information on sanitation, water/sewer, access and a detailed site plan.
