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The Grainger County Commission gave its blessing to the development of regulations for RV parks in the county.

David Long, of the county planning commission, addressed the commission this week regarding the need for regulations as more RV parks come into existence.

“We think there is a great need in the county to create regulations that will help make RV parks a desirable place to stay,” Long said. “They should have the proper infrastructure. Now it’s haphazard and we’d like to get some kind of standardization.”

When asked how other adjoining counties regulate their RV parks, Long said that he has spent the past couple of months looking at those regulations. He indicated that Jefferson County put some regulations in a few years ago.

“I found all of them surrounding the county have some type of regulations on RV parks,” Long said. “We have not discussed anything in particular, but we welcome any feedback.”

When Commissioner James Acuff asked Long if the RV park regulations involve any type of zoning, Long said there would be no zoning.

“Most of the counties around us have zoning,” Long said.

Long used Monroe County as an example for zoning regulations.

“They have RV regulations without zoning. That is in place already,” Long said. “If they have RV regulations without zoning, why can’t we?”

The majority of the surrounding counties have parks located on a five-acre tract, Long said.

“My problem is they can’t just come in and buy an acre beside your house or my house and put 20 to 25 RVs there,” he said.

Acuff said that the Tennessee Code Annotated policy governing RV parks makes a county like a city in being able to force regulations.

“It would kind of like getting a beer license in some respects,” Acuff said. “You have to have certain qualifiers that will allow you to do that.”

Long said that there is a place where there are 22 RVs sitting on 16 ½ acres of land who are permanent residents. Long that tax revenues at that place is around $700.

Long counted about 1,000 campsites. Later Monday, Long found 50 more campsites

“That’s 1,000 residents that we’re not getting any taxes from?” Commissioner Jennifer Holt asked.

“We’re getting property taxes from the owners,” Long said. “If it’s commercial, that’s a 40% rate. They’re paying their property taxes like they should. The only problem there are the residences that don’t pay much.”

Acuff talked of a resident who has a neighbor who has a half-dozen RVs set up, but does not operate a campground.

“This would be able to help eliminate those properties,” Long said. “There should be a site plan, just like subdivisions, where the roads are and the sewer is going to be. It should be a good quality place where people would like to come and stay.”

“It’s not trying to tell people what they can do, but it’s trying to control a problem that can get out of hand,” Acuff said.

The commission passed a resolution for the planning commission to go ahead with setting regulations on a 15-0 vote.