A special land use request from Saugatuck Meadows Campground will return before the Ganges Township Planning Commission on Aug. 27 at the Glenn Community Center.
The request was last discussed in May, when more than 70 residents packed the small Ganges Township meeting room and huddled by windows in the rain for a public hearing.
The 25-acre project from applicant Bobbi Jo Beyersdorf would be a partnership with Michael O’Connor, owner of the adjacent Campit Outdoor Resort. Beyersdorf previously said the campgrounds are unrelated, but also said visitors would be able to purchase day passes to access Campit.
Until now, Campit has used the neighboring land for auxiliary parking and storage.
What is Campit Resort?
Campit is a 33-acre campground with space for tents and RVs. The grounds include log cabin rentals, a five-bedroom bunkhouse, vintage trailers, a heated pool, a clubhouse and other outdoor recreation amenities.
The website for Campit advertises weekly events and activities, and describes the campground as a resort experience for members of the LGBTQ+ community, including friends and allies.
Campit is located in a commercial district. In 2004, the business received permission to double in size after a successful lawsuit against Ganges Township.
In June, officials unanimously passed a year-long moratorium on new campgrounds, but the decision was made too late to apply to Saugatuck Meadows. It has, however, blocked another expansion application from Campit, according to emails between Supervisor John Herbert and Zoning Administrator Tasha Smalley obtained through the Freedom of Information Act and shared with The Sentinel.
According to Herbert, the municipality’s legal counsel (Ron Bultje) advised the moratorium couldn’t affect any application that’s already been submitted to the zoning administrator or had a public hearing.
Why are residents frustrated with Campit?
Residents have repeatedly alleged Campit is destroying their way of life, with frequent loud noise into the early morning hours, increased traffic and speeds, and possible impacts on wildlife and the municipality’s aquifer.
“I thought I would live here forever, but at this rate I don’t know that’s going to happen,” said resident Stephanie Hughes. “If the township doesn’t stand up for its citizens, it’s going to wind up losing its culture, its feel, the thing that makes it attractive to people who want to come here.”
Commissioners had mixed opinions as they spoke to Beyersdorf in May.
Vice Chair Dale Pierson said, even though Beyersdorf claims the development isn’t an expansion of Campit, her involvement with O’Connor connects the project to those problems and complaints.
“People at your campground, even if you’re completely divorced from Campit, are still going to suffer the effects of Campit,” Pierson said. “I’m wondering if that’s a problem for you and you might change your mind about this whole thing, because obviously Campit has no friends anywhere close.”
“I hear this,” Beyersdorf said.
Commissioner Edward Gregory said the campground doesn’t mesh with the Ganges Township Master Plan. He compared RVs to single-family dwellings. The smallest lot size for a single-family dwelling in Ganges Township is 1.5 acres. A site on the new campground, as proposed, is just 4,600 square feet.
“That’s 14 times greater density,” he said. “That’s 14 times the human occupation, 14 times the noise, 14 times the smoke, 14 times the traffic, the smells, the activities, the water consumption, the waste disposal and the public services that are going to have to address this.”
Planning Commission Chair Jackie DeZwaan disagreed with that interpretation, and Bultje pointed out the application could be a pathway to solving problems at Campit.
“We’ve got a very legitimate special use application that’s pending before us, but we’ve got a real problem across the street with Campit,” Bultje said. “… We, I hope, can use this as a vehicle to get a better handle on Campit while approving a legitimate special land use application.”
— Cassidey Kavathas is the politics and court reporter at The Holland Sentinel. Contact her at ckavathas@hollandsentinel.com. Follow her on X and Bluesky @cassideykava.
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Controversial campground request returns to Ganges Township on Aug. 27
Reporting by Cassidey Kavathas, Holland Sentinel / The Holland Sentinel
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