Greene County Planning Department asks for 6-month moratorium on campground development

GREENEVILLE, Tenn. (WJHL) – The Greene County Planning Department is asking county commissioners to place a 6-month hold on new campgrounds or RV parks.

Special Projects and Research Coordinator for the department Lyn Ashburn said the reason for the moratorium is to give the department time to create new zoning regulations.

“There has been an increase in development pressures in Greene County, and a lot of the phone calls that we’re getting are about starting campgrounds,” said Ashburn. “We’ve wanted to update our regulations for a while now.”

Currently, all types of campgrounds, including RV resorts, tent sites, car camping and primitive camping, are all zoned together under agriculture; but Ashburn told News Channel 11 that they hope to divide each individual type into its own, more specific regulation category.

“Hopefully what we’ve got in place will help ensure that what comes in the future won’t create a negative impact to the surrounding area,” said Ashburn. “It’ll be a positive for the people that come and visit, and also it’ll be positive for the person that owns the property.”

Aimee Eucce lives in Greene County and has been doing her own research to present to the county to get the regulations changed. She said she is concerned for community safety, among other issues.

“It’s about safety, safety for our farmers, safety for our kids, safety for the people coming into a campground, and safety for the owners of the campground,” said Eucce. “The new regulations, [it] is about making sure that there’s enough space between the road and the campground, having enough trees planted, and making sure that the infrastructure is set for that area.”

The moratorium would only affect new campgrounds wanting to build or existing campgrounds looking to expand and build more onto their property.

“I think it’s a really good thing because that way, we can take our time developing the resolution and changing all the rules and regulations, and make sure that it benefits homeowners,” said Eucce. “We need to plan our growth because Greene County’s growing really fast.”

The resolution to approve a moratorium on campgrounds and RV resorts will go before Greene County Commissioners to be voted on during their meeting in May.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WJHL | Tri-Cities News & Weather.