At their July 17 meeting, the Buena Vista Planning & Zoning Commission voted to recommend trustees approve municipal code amendments related to temporary seasonal camping in the light industrial (I-1) and highway commercial (HC) zone districts. The amendments cover sections 16.3.1.4 and 16.3.2.4.C of the Buena Vista Municipal Code.
The temporary camping amendments, nearly two and a half years in the making, would allow employers to apply for a permit to have employees camp on their property. The Buena Vista Board of Trustees and the P&Z Commission re-upped their directive for town staff to work on the code change in 2023.
Since the July 3 meeting, planning department staff spoke with the police chief, code enforcement officer and the town attorney to address concerns.
“The purpose of the proposed code change is to better regulate potential camping in light industrial zoning districts where it’s currently allowed and to accommodate temporary camping in highway commercial districts,” said planning director Joel Benson. “
New updates included removing the word “seasonal” throughout and dates allowed for camping, adding content on the inclusion of year-round camping and a caveat that camping is not a vested right and is subject to renewal, adding a requirement that camping employees must work 20 hours and should be capped at 3 campers in the HC districts, adding clarification and town authority on “town-approved” toilet facilities, adding additional required details for site plans and local contacts, requiring a 250-foot distance from the Hwy. 24 centerline and clarifying the application and renewal process.
The initial application would include the site plan, public hearing, and agency approvals. Renewals would be administrative only. Liability would be similar to a tenant-landlord relationship, and Benson confirmed he spoke with the town attorney on the subject.
During public comment, business owners and potential applicants for a camping permit Lenny and Amy Eckstein spoke about shareholder engagement, complicated processes and reducing friction.
“It seems well-thought-out,” Lenny said, “but not something I would not have weighed in on. … I would hope that at least some shareholders were engaged. If I was to be, I would probably flag a few issues, primarily ‘three employees.’”
“I’m kind of surprised at how much process and red tape has been put on top of this policy,” Amy said. “‘Camping is available only for employees who work 20 hours of work per week,’ I think that’s overreach. … ‘Highway commercial campers have to be behind the primary structure.’ I would prefer that not to happen if it’s already a temporary use, it’s already fenced. … The whole idea of workforce camping is that we can leverage what we have.
“It just creates a lot of friction,” she said. “And as a community, I think we want to work towards reducing friction.”
Benson clarified that the site plan review process and initial “red tape” is only for the initial application and that renewal is administrative. He also said that the requirement that camping be behind the primary structure is part of the existing code language.
P&Z chair Preston Larimer said Amy’s comments were “really helpful” to hear. He suggested changing the policy to require camping to be well-screened rather than completely behind the structure.
Commission member Tom Brown suggested that they only need to be confirmed employees, removing the weekly hour requirement and that the site plan review could determine the property’s camping capacity.
On stakeholder engagement, Benson said the code presented was built off existing code and that they wanted to move on it quickly.
“It’s taken two-and-a-half years because we were talking about it, we were trying to move ahead,” Larimer said, “and all of a sudden we had no planning department. That killed it for a while. It’s an important one to get going and get done.”
Member Tony LaGreca and alternate Tina Bennetts suggested they consider the amendments a living document and survey the stakeholders after a year or two to see what is and is not working.
Brown moved to recommend approval with the discussed amendments, and Larimer offered a second. The motion carried unanimously.
Craig Brown also announced his tenure on the commission would end at the end of his term, December 2024.
The commission adjourned at 9:13 p.m. The trustees will discuss the amendments in a public hearing at their July 23 meeting.