Adams County panel approves conditional use for Fawn Creek wedding sites with 9 p.m. cutoff and one-week tent removal

Adams County Planning and Zoning approved a conditional use permit for Fawn Creek Holdings LLC to host temporary wedding sites on property in the town of Del Prairie, subject to two conditions: no activities past 9 p.m., consistent with Del Prairie's participation form, and removal of temporary tents within one week after each event.

County staff said the request falls under the ordinance provision that covers family or farm-related businesses and that the town of Del Prairie submitted a participation form saying it did not object, though it requested that events end by 9 p.m. Agent David Brown told commissioners the proposal would include three discrete sites on the parcel — the largest beside the vineyard, a smaller hillside site, and a wooded site — and that there would be no permanent structures. Brown said temporary canvas tents would be used and that a tent could hold up to 200 people; he told the commission the proposal averaged about 22 weddings per season.

Commissioners pressed for operational limits. One commissioner recommended a requirement that tents be removed promptly after events; the group debated two days versus one week and settled on one week as a reasonable timeframe to include with the permit. The panel also agreed to add the town of Del Prairie's 9 p.m. restriction as a permit condition.

The conditions were put to a roll-call vote and adopted; the commission then voted to approve the conditional use request with the attached conditions. Staff said the conditional use decision did not require referral to the full board.