Gardiner Town Board reviews law on campgrounds

By Connor Linskey
Posted 10/16/19

“We have saved the best for last,” said Gardiner Town Supervisor Marybeth Majestic at last week’s town board meeting.

The item on the agenda was a review of a draft law on …

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Gardiner Town Board reviews law on campgrounds

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“We have saved the best for last,” said Gardiner Town Supervisor Marybeth Majestic at last week’s town board meeting.

The item on the agenda was a review of a draft law on regulations relating to tourism related accommodation use. This law, if passed, would allow the Town Board to look at an application for a campground on a case by case basis.

The major point of discussion regarding the law is that it would allow existing campgrounds to expand their territory within a certain number of acres with the approval of the planning board. If the resident wants to further expand their property they have to seek approval from the town board. At the meeting, town board members had a lively discussion regarding their thoughts on the proposed law.

Members of the town board made many suggestions regarding the appropriate number of acres for the existing campgrounds. They wanted a substantial number of acres to be subject to approval from the planning board. This way, it would be difficult for people to eclipse that number and have to receive approval from the planning board. There was also a discussion regarding parameters for newly established campgrounds.

The town board then began to discuss if they wanted more campgrounds. Other towns have seen their populations triple due to the abundance of mobile homes. This has led to a substantial amount of traffic at times.

Board member, Warren Weigand suggested that there should be a maximum number of mobile homes. He also noted that there should be a parameter for open space within the campgrounds and acreage of the properties. In addition, he suggested that the campgrounds not have amplified noise.

“I think we need to provide some parameters that provide direction for the future town board to make a decision and will help a future town defend itself if it gets sued,” Weigand said.