Updated August 12, 2024

The Montgomery County Council in late July approved a zoning ordinance that will allow some landowners in the Ag Reserve to host overnight guests in what will essentially be private campgrounds open to the public. The measure goes into affect August 19.

The new ordinance—called Zoning Text Amendment (ZTA) 24-02—was approved by the 11-member Council after eight months of debate that ended in a compromise, scaled-down version of an earlier proposal. That proposal drew broad opposition from farmers and Ag Reserve groups, including SCA.

The measure as passed has the following allowances, limits, and restrictions:

• Campgrounds can be on working farms only. Thus, entrepreneurs thinking about buying land in the Ag Reserve solely to develop a private campground would not be permitted to do so.

• Landowners must submit plans for a private campground to the county for evaluation under “conditional use” rules. That means County officials will evaluate each proposal on its own merits and “conditions” may be imposed depending on the specific needs of the property and neighborhood.

• A property must be at least 25 acres to qualify for a campground.

• A campground can encompass only 10% of a property’s total acreage, or 5 acres, whichever is smaller.

• Campsites don’t have to be clustered in one area. If spread out, however, they still must comply with the 10% or 5-acre limit

• A campground must be 100 feet from any neighboring property line.

• Properties of 25 to 100 acres can have up to 5 sites for tent or RV camping, or temporary removable structures such as yurts or small cabin on wheels.

• Properties larger than 100 acres can have up to 10 such sites, of which only 5 can be for RV camping.

• No tents, RVs, or removable structures are permitted in a stream buffer or floodplain, and cutting down trees to create a campground is prohibited.

• Temporary removable structures cannot be larger than 200 square feet.

• Such structures cannot have heating or air conditioning systems, kitchens or bathrooms. RVs can have such amenities.

• Property owners are not required to provide separate bathrooms, bathing facilities, or cooking facilities. If they do, those facilities must meet existing county codes, including those for septic systems, and be approved by county authorities.

• Guests can stay a maximum of 3 nights only.

County Council members and officials have acknowledged that they don’t know what the level of interest among landowners will be in launching private campgrounds. Only a small number embraced the measure whole-heartedly at public forums on the issue since last December. And the “conditional use” approval process may be a significant obstacle for many. Recognizing the uncertainty, the Council included a measure in the ordinance that requires county officials to assess the measure’s impact by Dec. 31, 2027 or when five applications have been submitted, whichever is sooner.

What are temporary removable structures?

The concept of temporary removable structures arose when the initial version of the ordinance allowed for permanent structures (of up to 400 square feet and with bathrooms). That generated strong community opposition, sounding to many people like small motels on farms.

The final version of the ordinance allows for a range of temporary structures that are not precisely defined. You can see photos of examples in the detailed staff report prepared for the Council. The report also covers other technical issues that arose. The bottom line is that landowners could get creative with the notion of temporary units. But it’s as yet unclear that will be worth their up-front costs.

Will the inclusion of RVs create problems?

RV parks are often specialized, with electrical hook ups and other amenities. They also require good roads and larger camp/parking sites. The ordinance does not require landowners to have such amenities. RV campgrounds are often separated from smaller-scale tent campgrounds as well. Many large RVs have their own generators, which can be noisy.

So, why allow RVs alongside simple tent camping on proposed 2.5 to 5 acre sites? Council members didn’t fully debate this issue (at least in public), and questions remain on how the RV component of the ordinance will play out. RVs were included in the zoning ordinance simply because they are a popular way to “camp” and some farmers may prefer to serve this community as opposed to or in addition to tent campers.

SCA’s position

SCA supported the scaled-down version of the zoning ordinance. Our view is that allowing farmers (with produce and products to sell) to host overnight guests could help provide additional farm-related income and expand awareness and knowledge of the Ag Reserve’s role in preserving farming in Montgomery County. Many families enjoy camping and RVing, preferring that to hotels, motels or Airbnbs. We plan to be vigilant on how the ordinance is implemented and what it yields by way of actual proposals for private campgrounds in the Ag Reserve area.

Read more here about agritourism and camping on farms.

Find out more in the Fall 2024 issue of Plenty Magazine. The button below will take you to the article “Overnight Stays in the Reserve,” an interesting, informative and up-to-date description of this additional way to explore the Ag Reserve.