Park it, mister

The Planning Commission meeting on July 14, 2020 started with a public hearing regarding the horses on Robert Smith’s property where he runs a bed and breakfast.

There had been a nuisance complaint from one of the neighbors who was in attendance citing dust problems and issues with the expansion of the on going business.

The Smiths rebutted that the complaint was in retribution for their own complaint to the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) regarding an illegal gravel pit. They went on to say that the other surrounding neighbors have signed their petition to renew the special use permit. The Smiths stated that they receive many compliments on their property and the other neighbors like the horses.

The public meeting was ended. Later in the meeting the Planning Commission voted to recommend to the Town Council to approve the special use permit.

There were discussions on three different RV park issues at the meeting.

One park, across the bridge, wanted to put up an additional sign, the same size as their existing sign. However, the original sign is over 50 years old and does not conform to the current codes. The commission decided that a variance is needed in order for a new sign, that is larger that what code allows, to be installed.

The next RV park issue stemmed from a real estate listing. Many years ago, there was an RV park near Hugus. The ad for the listing sparked a complaint from a neighbor as it made the property sound like it was a commercial business. The concern was that new owners might open an RV park in the residential area.

The property in question has only been used to park RVs for the family and friends of the owners for the past 25 years or so.

According to Kent Smith, Zoning Officer, the RV park is pre-existing to current codes but stated, “once it has not been used for the intended purpose for 6 months, it has to go back and be in compliance with code”.

Jim Beckman, Chairman for the Planning Commission, reassured the complainant by stating, “new owners would have to go through a process, its not like someone can just show up and open a business”.

The owners of the property in question stated their only wish is to sell the property and will have the real estate agent change the wording of the listing.

The third RV park that was discussed at the meeting was for a preliminary plat for an subdivision owned by Crown Properties for an RV park. An overview was provided. Smith stated they appeared to have everything that was needed to continue to the final plat process. The commission voted to recommend the preliminary plat to the Saratoga Town Council.

The next meeting for the Planning Commission will be at 5:30 p.m. on August 11, 2020 at the Saratoga Town Hall.