Laserfiche WebLink
December 15, 2021 <br /> To: Land Use & Information Committee Work Group on Campgrounds <br /> c/o Jason Towne <br /> 7410 County Road K #120 <br /> Siren, WI 54872 <br /> RE: RR-RC Campsite Caps & RR-3 Campground Provisions <br /> Dear Members of the Work Group on Campgrounds, <br /> Thank you for reestablishing the Land Use & Information Committee Work Group on <br /> Campgrounds in response to the full County Board's request to hold public hearings on <br /> two provisions of #TXT-21-03 that remain pending. I know that the Work Group is <br /> genuinely interested in addressing public concerns over campground development in <br /> Burnett County. <br /> While you explore additional ordinance changes, Preserve Burnett County urges the <br /> Work Group to proceed quickly with a 100-unit cap on campgrounds in the RR-RC <br /> zoning district and eliminate campgrounds as a conditional use in the RR-3 zoning <br /> district, as originally proposed. <br /> One option the Work Group may be considering is a density rule for RR-RC zoning <br /> districts as an alternative to fixed caps. Based on our analysis of campground density, <br /> Preserve Burnett County believes that a density rule will not eliminate or even nominally <br /> reduce future land use conflicts. <br /> The average density of existing campgrounds in Burnett County is approximately 2.6 <br /> sites per acre (see Exhibit A). The density of new or expanded campgrounds that have <br /> been approved over the past seven years with little or no public opposition has ranged <br /> from approximately 0.9 (CUP#16-02) to 6.7 (CUP#20-13) sites per acre. The density of <br /> new or expanded campgrounds during this same time frame that have faced stiff public <br /> opposition and intense committee scrutiny has ranged from approximately 0.9 (CUP#21- <br /> 08) to 6.2 (CUP#21-31) sites per acre (See Exhibit B). This history suggests that <br /> campground location relative to existing residences and sensitive shoreland areas is at <br /> least as much of a concern as density. <br /> In practice, "campground" developers are building seasonal residential communities at <br /> densities not otherwise allowed by Town and County subdivision rules. Without strict <br /> siting guidelines in place, a hard cap would at least limit the impact on adjoining <br />