Townsend’s Board of Zoning appeals agreed a campground or RV park fits the neighboring land uses near the Talley Ho Inn, issuing a special exception to developers Thursday. Developer Brett Stewart has worked for months to garner approval for his proposed “upscale RV park” on the 5.2-acre property.
Stewart’s vision presented before the Townsend Planning Commission depicts an RV park with more space and parking for each vehicle. The goal, he said, is to offer better amenities than competing campground locations and possibly have staff on-site to help customers with their needs. Additions could include fire pits and tables.
The property in question can fit up to 70 lots, Stewart has said, but the final number will depend on how developers draw the plans. He plans to keep the green barrier that currently stands between the property and the neighboring Great Smoky Mountains Heritage Center, he said.
He’s in talks to purchase the land from the owners of the Talley Ho Inn and could eventually purchase the inn as well, which he said has a “very, very similar” land use possibility.
Stewart initially requested city officials rezone the property to allow his project, creating a historic proposal to create the city’s first “highway business district” zoned property. That proposal gained planning commission approval in October after being tabled for lack of a second in September.
The Townsend City Council failed to approve the rezoning request in a November split vote where city commissioners cited concerns about the property’s future. The B3 zone, they said, contains many land uses citizens have cited as undesirable, and should the property be rezoned it would then be available for those land uses down the road.
Officials have since debated the effectiveness of the city’s zoning ordinance, with the planning commission formally requesting the city council repeal the ordinance for modifications last month. There is currently no land zoned B3 in Townsend, meaning anyone who wants to build an array of developments must first secure rezoning approval. Planning Commission Chair Michael Talley has said he believes any similar rezoning request will be denied.
On Thursday, the Board of Zoning Appeals allowed Stewart to build his development on the land even though that’s not normally a permitted use for the property. The park, board members said, matches surrounding land uses and would fit in without disturbing citizens.
David Hoque noted the property sits near other campground areas. Board Chair Keith Shepherd pointed out every campground or RV park in Townsend predates the current zoning code and thus sits on land zoned B1.
“If Mr. Stewart had applied a year earlier, he would be applying in the B1 right now,” he said.
He warned that Stewart would still have to comply with all the regulations governing such an establishment listed in the city’s zoning ordinance, something the developer said he’d been studying “since day one.” Stewart told the board he’s now ready to talk to architects and engineers to begin drawing up plans for the park.
