Allen can appeal the board’s decision to the county Common Pleas Court or wait a year to refile a request. The conditional-use permit was needed before the proposed project would move to the county planning board for consideration.
The property located near Brukner Nature Center has been proposed for controversial developments in the past including condominiums and a golf course more than 20 years ago.
The board heard from project proponents including representatives of the county visitors bureau and the village of West Milton, which was lined up to handle water and wastewater needs for the property.
The county Park District sent a letter to the board saying it had not taken a position on the project and an email from a Brukner Nature Center board officer said that board had not discussed the proposal.
Jeff Puthoff of Choice One Engineering, Sidney, representing Josette and David Allen, said they saw the proposal “as a way they could share the (land’s) beauty with the general public and make a little income.” The campsites would be built on higher ground out of the flood plain, he said, and the owners intended to develop “a very thorough” campground evacuation plan.
West Milton mayor Jason Tinnerman said the village’s small businesses could benefit from campers who could come to town to buy groceries and visit its shops.
More than a dozen people spoke against the proposal. The chief of the Ludlow Falls Volunteer Fire Department said the organization was “on the fence” as it waited for more information on an evacuation plan and more on the water source for the proposed project.
William Springer, who owns land nearby off Greenlee Road, Troy, said the proposal mentioned about 190 acres but the land wanted for the campground is about 35 to 40 acres of land outside of the flood plain. The campground was targeted “in the middle of kind of a pristine area,” Springer said.
Several opponents talked about Horseshoe Bend Road leading to the property and said a steep hill and hairpin curve would be unsafe for large RVs. Most brushed off comments that the developers would route traffic from the other direction, noting GPS units would take those unfamiliar with the area down the hill.
“A high-density commercial campground has no business in our neighborhood,” said Sandra Netzley, who along with her husband, Terry, has lived on Horseshoe Bend Road since the 1990s.
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