By Kellen Olshefski
Editor
The Walworth County Zoning Agency will be holding a public hearing about allowing camping in conjunction with special events, such as concerts at Alpine Valley, at 4:30 p.m. at its upcoming meeting on Feb. 18 at the Walworth County Government Center.
Walworth County Land Use and Resource Management Director Michael Cotter said the topic of allowing camping at Alpine Valley Music Theater was originally brought up about a year ago.
Supervisor David Weber said at the agency’s Jan. 21 meeting if the area of the theater intended for use as camping would be zoned as a B-5 zoning district – a planned commercial-recreational business district – it would fall in line with the state’s interpretation of campground legislation.
Weber said allowing camping on the property would open up the possibility for additional events at Alpine Valley Music Theater and further advance the proposal of bringing quality music events.
Weber said with discussions revealing concerns that Walworth County could end up in a similar dilemma as Kenosha County has with Country Thunder, he would suggest camping on the property be entirely different from that event.
Weber said the Walworth County Sheriff’s Office has taken time to review comparable venues offering camping and had left him with the opinion that with the level of governance proposed, it could be a workable and manageable opportunity for Alpine Valley Music Theater.
The proposed amendments to the county zoning ordinance would allow for a temporary campground to provide campsites in conjunction with a previously approved conditional use permit in the B-5 zoning district for special events held under specific uses.
Events that would be allowed to be paired with a special event campground could include drive-in movies, fairgrounds, race tracks, golf courses and country clubs, amphitheaters, music entertainment facilities, airports, schools and churches, as examples.
The fees proposed for the special event campground zoning permit would include a $300 fee per event, as well as a $1,000 public hearing fee.
All uses listed in the suggested zoning ordinance amendments would be considered conditional uses, in which case the county would control the events through conditional permit uses.
Cotter said if passed, the amendments to the zoning code wouldn’t just apply to one parcel, such as Alpine Valley, and special event campgrounds at all properties in the B-5 zoning district would be permissible under an approved conditional use permit only.
Weber made a motion to move the topic on for consideration for a public hearing at the committee’s next meeting, which was approved unanimously.
