Marshall Mountains Campground project proposal continued to January
MARSHALL - If approved, a proposed campground project in Marshall's high-density residential district would be the last campground project approved for the district, after the Marshall Town Board voted to remove campgrounds as a special use in the Residential 1, R1, district.
But after hearing from a number of neighbors of the project, proposed for 830 Redmon Road, about their opposition to the application, the Marshall Board of Adjustment continued the meeting to next month.
Marshall Board of Adjustment Chair Ben Smith said he felt the board needed more time to digest the information presented to the board prior to making a vote.
Marshall Mountain Campgrounds proposes six campsites on roughly 40 acres, though the property itself is more than 100 acres. Only 10 acres will be included in the campground site. The requirement for each camping unit is 5,000 square feet per site.
The property is owned by Brian Gaines, owner of developer Black Walnut Forest.
Joseph Cippolina is the applicant who would be developing the land.
The property sits less than 1 mile from the North Main Street intersection and is positioned both within the municipal boundary of Marshall and partially within Madison County Residential Agricultural zoning.
Kaitland Finkle is a regional planner with Land of Sky Regional Council who serves as the town of Marshall's zoning administrator.
According to Finkle, everything being proposed in the site plan is located within the town of Marshall's jurisdiction.
In a staff report to the board, Finkle said there is a single-family home and an accessory structure, a shed, on the property.
The project site plan lists two bath houses - one 1,000 square feet and the other 2,000 square feet. Finkle said one of the bathhouses will have three bathrooms. The site plan also lists 20 parking spots.
According to Finkle, Cippolina is proposing the project throughout two phases.
The first phase would consist of the six campsites, with the second phase featuring a conversion of camp sites to cob structures.
Finkle said there was some gray area in defining the second phase's plans.
"The language is not cut and dry clear in our ordinance," Finkle said. "There is a regulation that says no more than 1/3 of the campsites can be a yurt. A yurt is defined as a dwelling of Mongol and Turkish people of Central Asia, consisting of cylindrical wall with holes, a lattice arrangement, with a conical roof or poles that are covered over. Campgrounds also are allowed to include cabins, which are a small, one-story home built and designed for temporary use."
According to her interpretation, Finkle said she felt the second phase plans were more aligned with cabins than yurts.
Finkle also encouraged the board to bear in mind the town of Marshall's goals laid out in its 2030 Comprehensive Plan, which include promotion of sustainable land development plans and practices, establishing safe, diverse and efficient transportation networks and strengthening economic development and downtown revitalization opportunities while still maintaining the character of the town.
Cippolina said one of the reasons he moved to the area was "to get closer to living intentionally."
"There are things I want to show people that are living and camping with us as well, in terms of agriculture, farming and living sustainably," Cippolina said, adding that all of the electricity on the site proposes solar power, with LED lights affixed at each campsite.
"I do want to be implementing other conservation practices throughout the property. I don't want you to think we're just coming in here and destroying everything. In fact, one of the reasons why we're using this location specifically on the property, inside Marshall city limits, is because there were a lot of trees moved in that area."
Cippolina said the development team also factored the traffic concerns in their decision.
"We do not want cars driving all over the premises," Cippolina said. "We really want the people to be on the property walking it and enjoying nature."
Like Finkle, Cippolina also pointed to the goals laid out in the town's comprehensive plan.
"The third goal of the comprehensive land use is to bring economic development. I believe that this will do that," Cippolina said. "I also think that it does align, at least to what I understand to be Marshall's character, because in the comprehensive plan it does say Marshall is the central corridor for outdoor recreation between Hot Springs and Asheville.
"I think that camping is exactly what that is. You're going to camp here. You're going to camp here because you want to bike, hike, climb, fish, all those good things. I think that really does align with the culture of Marshall, at least to some extent. Maybe not everything, but a portion."
Concerns
Water access/strength has long been an issue in Marshall, and was one of the main concerns raised by staff and neighbors of the proposed project.
"Water is a dilemma on Redmon Road," Finkle said. "The water pressure, there's areas of water pressure issues on Redmon Road. So, at this point, without further study, the applicant would either be responsible for installing additional lines to carry public water to the site, or to apply to the county for a well permit. Our public works folks couldn't make a definitive determination without knowing what the draw would be on public water, and exactly where water would tie into at the location as far as water pressure."
Sewer service is available on the site, Finkle said, adding that Cippolina apply for the project to be treated with public sewer services.
Redmon Road resident Michelle Morrison lives directly adjacent to the proposed project. She presented to the board about why she opposed the project.
"This is about, 'Is this appropriate for our neighborhood, and our residentially zoned area?'" said Morrison, who raised the issue of fire rings.
"My home is just a couple hundred feet away. Traveling out of town, I would be terrified to leave knowing there were campers next door. With a fire hydrant situation, this is a top risk for a residential area, for a loss of property, and life, potentially."
Morrison said she felt the steep driveway could potentially be dangerous as well, and also wondered whether her property sustained erosion control as a result of the proposed campground property owners using dynamite to blow up the driveway in January 2022.
"That definitely affects erosion control, and it's disturbing the earth, and these mountains are so delicate already," Morrison said, adding she felt the project plans were not in harmony with the comprehensive plan.
Additionally, Morrison said she felt Cippolina provided "non-responsive answers" in detailing the site plans for the project.
"The size of this development is super unclear," Morrison said. "There's a maximum size 10-acre park for the campsites, there's a 40-acre parcel in Mr. Cippolina's correspondence, and you mentioned the full 110 acres. What're we talking about here? Are we going to have people traipsing all over the 110 acres?
"It just seems like the scope of this is potentially expanding, whether intentional or not. But this 110 acres has been mentioned multiple times. So that's a concern."
Board members and Finkle pointed to the town of Marshall's Unified Development Ordinance "black and white" policy which requires any type of structure to be within 500 feet of a fire hydrant.
Another neighbor, Suzanne Duvall, spoke to Marshall's troubled history of water access/water pressure.
"We can't afford to lose any more water," she said. "It takes me 12 to 20 seconds to fill a gallon jug with water. If I try to wash my hair, if three people on Redmon Road flush their commode, you have to stand there for 10 minutes and wait for the water to come back up."
Duvall said she experienced a house fire at her home in Marshall, and worries about a potential fire impacting her home again.
"I'm a little further away now, but I know what it's like for it to get loose. We used to fight fire on the mountain because trains were sending sparks during dry spells when we were growing up," she said. "It moves quickly, especially when it's dry.
"I'm concerned that Marshall is going to turn itself into something that nobody wants to live in, because it's making me want to leave, and I've been here since I was 9 years old, left for 10 years and I came back after my house burned down, and I was glad I came home."
According to Cippolina, there is an existing well on the property, though it sits outside of Marshall town limits.
"The county regulates wells," Finkle said. "They would have to permit the well itself. What we were saying earlier though is if the well is located within the town limits, the Board of Aldermen would have to give permission that they could even utilize that they could even utilize the well for the development.
"What Cippolina is saying is there's an existing well outside of town limits that may be able to be utilized or further improved. Once again though, the development itself is within town limits, so the expectation initially is that it utilizes town services. If town services are not available, which does happen, then staff refers it to the Board of Aldermen to get a blessing to proceed within town limits."
Board Chair Ben Smith said the board had too much laid on them for them to make a decision Dec. 11.
"I'm not going to make a decision tonight. Michelle mentioned some things she felt like you had left off the application," Smith said to Cippolina. "This is your chance to amend the application and work with Kaitland on what those requirements are.
"One of the things that we're required to do as a quasi-judicial board is keep an open mind," Smith said. "We also are members of this community. I'm speaking for the board here. We're going to try to do the right thing. But we need to let us work our process and trust that that's going to happen."
The Marshall Board of Adjustment's next meeting is Jan. 8 at 6:30 p.m. at Marshall Town Hall, located at 180 S. Main St.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Marshall Mountains Campground project proposal continued to January
