Camping On Agricultural Lands

Camping on Agricultural Land

Camrose County banned campgrounds on agricultural lands many years ago because there were concerns about campground uses being incompatible with adjacent farmland and acreages. Complaints were received about trespassing, animals, noise, traffic, and a variety of other items.

To address the issue, campgrounds were removed from agricultural lands and made discretionary in the GREC – General Recreation District. This means that all camping on agricultural lands is not allowed, including family camping. The County is aware that there is still a lot of family camping on agricultural lands and only enforces on a complaint basis, but we want to ensure our policies are still in line with the needs and practices of the community.

Definitions:
A permitted use means that the applicant applies for the development permit and is approved as long as they provided all required information and meet the regulations defined in the Land Use Bylaw. This permit can only be appealed by the land owner.

A discretionary use is approved on a case by case basis, but can be appealed by adjacent land owners. A discretionary use would have conditions attached to it.

Not allowed means that it cannot be approved under any circumstance.

As a right means no permits are required.

Some options we may potentially consider are:
1. Maintain strict ban on camping on agricultural lands.
2. Allow Limited “back country” camping, which would allow 1 to 2 units per

site, these would be unserviced locations.
3. Family Camping, which would allow a few campsites to be located or

maintained for occupancy, at no cost, to the members of the landowner’s

immediate family or friends with limited services.
4. Minor campground means an area which has been planned and improved

for the seasonal short term occupancy of up to a maximum of 5-10 recreational vehicles.
5. Sliding Scale base on property size such as:
a. Over 80 acres – 5 units
b. Between 20 and 79.9 acres – 4 units
c. Between 10 and 19.9 acres – 3 units
d. Between 5 and 9.9 acres – 2 units
e. Anything less – 1 unit
Note: Camrose County has Agricultural lands as small as 0.02 acres and as large as 368 acres.

Based on this information provided, we would love to hear your feedback on this subject.

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* 1. Do you reside or own land in Camrose County?

Yes

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* 2. Do you camp on your property or in an approved location?

Yes

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* 3. Which district do you currently reside in/own?

Agricultural

Watershed Protection

Large Lot Country Residential

Unsure

Other

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* 4. Do you support lifting the ban on camping on agricultural lands in the County?

Yes

Unsure

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* 5. If camping is allowed, should the rules distinguish between private (family/friends) camping and rental sites?

Yes

Unsure

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* 6. I support the following type of camping opportunities:

Continue ban on camping

Limited back Country Camping (1-2 units) per parcel

Family Camping (3-5 campsites); no rentals

Minor Campground (6-10 campsites); rentals allowed

Sliding Scale (dependent on size of parcel); rentals allowed

No limits

Other (please specify)

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* 7. If you support a sliding scale, depending on the size of the parcel how many units would you support per hectare (2.5 acres)? if you don't support it, enter 0.

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* 8. If you support a sliding scale, what is the maximum you would allow on a single quarter section? if you don't support it, enter 0.

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* 9. Below is a list of campground concerns we have received in the past. If the ban is lifted how concerned would you be about the following: (1=no concerns - 10=extremely concerned)

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
Trespassing	Trespassing 1	Trespassing 2	Trespassing 3	Trespassing 4	Trespassing 5	Trespassing 6	Trespassing 7	Trespassing 8	Trespassing 9	Trespassing 10
Noise	Noise 1	Noise 2	Noise 3	Noise 4	Noise 5	Noise 6	Noise 7	Noise 8	Noise 9	Noise 10
Waste water/sewage	Waste water/sewage 1	Waste water/sewage 2	Waste water/sewage 3	Waste water/sewage 4	Waste water/sewage 5	Waste water/sewage 6	Waste water/sewage 7	Waste water/sewage 8	Waste water/sewage 9	Waste water/sewage 10
Garbage/Littering	Garbage/Littering 1	Garbage/Littering 2	Garbage/Littering 3	Garbage/Littering 4	Garbage/Littering 5	Garbage/Littering 6	Garbage/Littering 7	Garbage/Littering 8	Garbage/Littering 9	Garbage/Littering 10
Pets disturbing livestock	Pets disturbing livestock 1	Pets disturbing livestock 2	Pets disturbing livestock 3	Pets disturbing livestock 4	Pets disturbing livestock 5	Pets disturbing livestock 6	Pets disturbing livestock 7	Pets disturbing livestock 8	Pets disturbing livestock 9	Pets disturbing livestock 10
Traffic	Traffic 1	Traffic 2	Traffic 3	Traffic 4	Traffic 5	Traffic 6	Traffic 7	Traffic 8	Traffic 9	Traffic 10
Fire risk	Fire risk 1	Fire risk 2	Fire risk 3	Fire risk 4	Fire risk 5	Fire risk 6	Fire risk 7	Fire risk 8	Fire risk 9	Fire risk 10
None	None 1	None 2	None 3	None 4	None 5	None 6	None 7	None 8	None 9	None 10
Other	Other 1	Other 2	Other 3	Other 4	Other 5	Other 6	Other 7	Other 8	Other 9	Other 10

Other (please specify)

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* 10. If you have concerns, do you believe the risk increases as the number of units increases?

Yes

Comments:

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* 11. What is the maximum number of units you would support prior to requiring rezoning to a recreational property?

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* 12. If you have concerns, do you believe that they can be addressed through regulation?

Yes

Comments:

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* 13. If camping is allowed should there be rules around?

	Yes	No	Unsure
Servicing (water, wastewater, power)	Servicing (water, wastewater, power) Yes	Servicing (water, wastewater, power) No	Servicing (water, wastewater, power) Unsure
Traffic	Traffic Yes	Traffic No	Traffic Unsure
Proximty to adjacent property lines	Proximty to adjacent property lines Yes	Proximty to adjacent property lines No	Proximty to adjacent property lines Unsure
Visual barriers	Visual barriers Yes	Visual barriers No	Visual barriers Unsure
Noise bylaws	Noise bylaws Yes	Noise bylaws No	Noise bylaws Unsure
Operational times (eg. May to October)	Operational times (eg. May to October) Yes	Operational times (eg. May to October) No	Operational times (eg. May to October) Unsure

Comments:

Question Title

* 14. Should campgrounds be?

	Allowed as a right	Permitted	DIscretionary	Unsure
1 unit	1 unit Allowed as a right	1 unit Permitted	1 unit DIscretionary	1 unit Unsure
2 units	2 units Allowed as a right	2 units Permitted	2 units DIscretionary	2 units Unsure
5 units	5 units Allowed as a right	5 units Permitted	5 units DIscretionary	5 units Unsure
10 units	10 units Allowed as a right	10 units Permitted	10 units DIscretionary	10 units Unsure
20 units	20 units Allowed as a right	20 units Permitted	20 units DIscretionary	20 units Unsure
30 units	30 units Allowed as a right	30 units Permitted	30 units DIscretionary	30 units Unsure

Comments:

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* 15. Camping is also banned on Large Lot Country Residential Parcels (usually over 5 acres in size) and Watershed Protection Parcels (usually over 16 acres in size) Should the same amendments be considered for them?

	Yes	No	Unsure
Watershed Protection	Watershed Protection Yes	Watershed Protection No	Watershed Protection Unsure
Large Lot Country Residential	Large Lot Country Residential Yes	Large Lot Country Residential No	Large Lot Country Residential Unsure

Camping On Agricultural Lands