'This is farmland': Washington County planners deny RV park rezoning request

The Washington County Regional Planning Commission denied a rezoning request on Tuesday to turn more than 16 acres into a recreational vehicle park. The planning commission recommended denial of the rezoning to the Washington County Commission with one vote against the motion. The request made by Jared Brown, the owner of the property, is to rezone 1165 East Main Street from A-1 general agriculture district to A-3 agriculture-business district. If approved, the property would be developed into an "RV park that will serve visitors to Washington County and [the] surrounding region," Brown wrote in his application. During the public hearing period, Brown spoke to the commission members explaining the intended usages if the property was to be rezoned. "The focus of this campground will be to provide an affordable stay for the tourist activities, as well as short stays for traveling, medical personnel [and] ETSU students," he said. He added the campground would be beneficial for the county highlighting that Hurricane Helene "left a void" in the community after RV parks in the area closed due to the flood. "With the development of the First Frontier Trail, which will be connecting Jonesborough and Johnson City with hiking and walking trails the location of the project is perfect for highlighting the community outdoor recreation," he said. "It's an ideal location in the county without even being visible from the main road." Two Washington County residents spoke during the public hearing period against the request including Robert Lowe whose family used to own the land. "This land was never intended to be a business, it was intended to be a farm," Lowe said. "There are very few still left in Washington County. I want to keep this as a farm." The Washington County Zoning and Planning Office staff recommended denial of the request stating the request is "not similar in character to the surrounding area and would allow for inappropriate levels of commercial development," according to the staff report. "At the time of a rezoning, we're not approving a specific use, we're approving anything in the district as requested at that time," Christopher Pape, planning and zoning analyst at the Washington County Planning and Zoning office, said. " Pape said dog kennels, commercial livestock, slaughterhouses, sawmills, airports and more are all usages permitted under the A-3 rezoning request. "The general intent of the A-3 is to add business uses that would locate in the area of agriculture or rural areas," he said. "This specific runnage is right wedged in between two of the towns and is primarily residential. We would see this as more residential and more of an urbanized or urban adjacent area." He added the office staff see this request as "a little bit less appropriate for this particular area" before stating their recommendation of a denial. "This is farmland," Washington County Commissioner Kenneth Huffine said before making the motion to recommend denial of the request to the full commission. "That is the purpose which I think is best served at this point in time." The rezoning request will now go in front of the full commission at its meeting on July 27 at 6 p.m. in the George P. Jaynes Justice Center.