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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.