BY GARI VOSS
The Ganges Township Planning Commission Aug. 27 turned down a controversial campground’s special land use request by a 3-2 vote.
The road has been bumpy since May when Bobbi Jo Beyersdorf of Central Florida Resort Management, L.L.C. asked the commission to approve a proposed 89-site Saugatuck Meadows Campground on 25 acres south side of 118th Avenue.
At issue with many citizens was that Beyersdorf’s partner in the venture was Michael O’Connor of Campit Outdoor Resort across the street.
Campit sits on 33 acres about 10 minutes east of Saugatuck. It promotes itself as a campsite that includes log cabin rentals, a five-bedroom bunkhouse B&B and vintage trailers.
It hosts weekly events and activities, a large, heated pool, clubhouse and other amenities that provide many choices for outdoor recreation and meeting people. It promotes itself as a campsite that includes log cabin rentals, a five-bedroom bunkhouse B&B and vintage trailers.
It hosts weekly events and activities, a large, heated pool, clubhouse and other amenities that provide many choices for outdoor recreation and meeting people. As an adult facility, it is open to the LGBTQ community.
Residents have complained Campit has broken multiple township ordinances for noise, public entertainment and unapproved onsite parking.
After the Ganges zoning committee approved approved Saugatuck Meadows’ special use permit in April, the request was passed to the 5-member planning commission.
It was tasked with reviewing the site plan to determine if all six standards would be properly met in order to complete the special Land Use request.
“Such a permit must meet six criteria,” said planning commission member and township trustee Dick Hutchins. “A key standard is the site plan must demonstrate the use would be harmonious with the surrounding properties.”
Other key standards are protection of public health, safety, and welfare; capacity of public services and facilities; conservation of the natural environment; promotion of zoning intent and purpose; and accommodating special land uses.
Citizens often questioned the township’s water and sewage resources and whether adequate police and fire services could be met if another campground was
approved.
Residents objecting also noted parcels of land on the perimeter of the identified campground were rural homes and agricultural, therefore another campground would not just detract from the current land uses but overtax the infrastructure for health and safety.
Since April attendance has risen at planning commission and township board meetings. On June 10, the board issued a moratorium that would prohibit establishing additional campgrounds or recreational vehicle parks, but since Saugatuck Meadows had begun the process before the moratorium, it seemed to be exempt from it.
The planning commission moved last Wednesday’ meeting to the Glenn Community Center in anticipation of a large crowd. There, citizens repeated information related to the six key standards and added the township has not been able to ensure that Campit follows township ordinances.
“The commissioners had to focus on the current request,” said Hutchins. “The township board will need to deal with ordinance concerns.”
The determination rode on the fact that the establishment of a campground along the south side of 118th Avenue was not compatible with the surrounding land uses.
Even though the Allegan County Health Department did not seem concerned with the health elements of water and sewer, and citizens brought up the lack of ordinance enforcement by police and thoughts about fire protection.
Commissioner Edward Gregory said Saugatuck Meadows’ proposal was inconsistent with the township master plan. The 4,600-square-foot density of the RV sites was smaller than Ganges’ 1.5-acre requirement. He believed that the density was 14 times normal human occupations, which would mean 14 times the noise, smoke, traffic, activity, water consumption, waste disposal and public services at the single address.
“This was a great victory for Ganges Township residents,” said one of them, Sue Mack. “What hasn’t changed is we still have a nuisance neighbor in Campit who continues to violate and ignore ordinances.
“We started the summer complaining about the behavior, and we are ending the summer in the exact same position,” she continued. “There has been little enforcement, which has only exacerbated the frustration of the neighbors. Our township board needs to exercise stricter oversight and enforcement.”
Only time will tell whether Beyersdorf and O’Connor will file a suit against the township like O’Connor did in 2004 when Campit doubled its size.
