Louisa planners discuss campsite caps, consider 10-site working cap for workforce lodging

The commission spent substantial time debating whether to cap the number of workforce campsites on a single site and which numerical threshold should change regulatory treatment. Some commissioners argued that a low threshold (for example, 3 sites) would quickly turn many uses into full campgrounds and create unfair competition with existing, permitted commercial campgrounds; others worried a mid-range zone (e.g., 4–10 sites) would create ambiguity.

Staff noted that the health department (VDH) rules change once the site reaches three or more sites. Several commissioners and staff suggested using 10 as a working cap for workforce lodging so staff could proceed with drafting. Committee member 4 summed up a frequently voiced view: "If you wanna run a campground, run a campground." The commission did not adopt a final numeric ordinance but directed staff to prepare language using the working cap and to gather more data on existing campground densities before the next meeting.