Incidental Camping

What is it?

Incidental camping is smaller in scale and temporary/seasonal in nature, i.e. tent, RV, or van camper camping, and secondary to the primary use of the land.,

Permit Requirements

Incidental camping:

  • requires a lower level use permit, called a  Site Plan Review, for 10 or fewer camping units;
  • a discretionary land use permit, called a Minor Use Permit, would be required for 11 or more camping units; and the project would need to go to a Planning Department Hearing for a decision. 
  • if setbacks can not be met, a discretionary land use permit, called a Conditional Use Permit, would be required, and the project would need to go before the Planning Comission to modify the setbacks.
    • Note:  a discretionary land use permit is subject to multi agency review, community input and public hearing approval.

Site Requirements

  • is allowed in Rural Land, Recreation, Public Facility, and Agriculture  land use categories. Rural lands and agricultural parcels are larger parcels with agriculture as the primary use. Therefore, rural camping is allowed as incidental to the agricultural operations as long as camping activities meet these required findings:
    • Camping does not compromise the ag use/production of the site
    • Camping does not impact surrounding ag operations / uses;
  • requires a minimum parcel size based on the property’s  land use category and general 4-prong test: remoteness ( distance from town), access road, slope, fire hazard / emergency response time. The results of these tests will determine the min. parcel size where incidental camping can be supported. The minimum parcel size for the following land use categories are:
    • Rural Land  = 20 acres  (optimum results from all test)
    • Recreation / Public Facilities = 6,000 sf to 20 acres
    • Agriculture ( varies )  = 20 acres ( active ag operations/ irrigated crop), 40 acres ( dry farm/ orchard), 320 acres (grazing);
  • has an allowed density 1 unit/ acre with max 10 camping sites; 
  • requires a 1,000 ft setback from public roads and property lines;
  • requires basic provisions such as a water supply and portable restrooms;
  • can include a maximum of 10 basic spaces for RV campers ( without hookups).

Ordinance

Rural Recreation and Camping (22.30.520)

Rural Recreation and Camping (23.08.072)