Plans are taking shape for a higher-end RV campground north of Syracuse, the Elkhart Truth reports.
The Elkhart County Board of Commissioners on Monday approved a zone map change for a piece of farmland on C.R. 29, south of C.R. 56, in Benton Township. The change was requested by Steve Showalter, owner of Showalter RV, who plans to build an RV campground on two-thirds of the 45-acre property.
Jason Auvil, county zoning administrator, said this step represents just the concept for the RV park. He said a detailed plan will still have to be submitted.
“When we met with Jason almost a year ago, he recommended we take this step to see if there was sufficient support for this concept in the county,” said Debra Hughes, senior professional engineer at Surveying and Mapping Inc.
“We’ve done a lot of back work to get this ready. There’s a shortage of RV campgrounds in the area. We sell half a million RVs a year, and then there’s just not enough places for people to go, so (Showalter) has a vision about what that could look like.”
Hughes said the most important part of the plan is water and sewer access. Developers reached a connection agreement with the town of Syracuse, whose utilities extend to within 1,000 feet of the county line, according to Hughes. Showalter said many RV owners also come through Elkhart when they need service. He said there are no resort-style campgrounds in the immediate area.
“We have some campgrounds, but if you’ve got a large Class A or maybe a fifth wheel, some of those parks are just not set up for the larger RVs that we’re building today,” he said. “There’s a clientele of people that want that higher-end resort-style experience and we just don’t have it around.”
Hughes described it as a professionally managed campground. The plan calls for an open campground with roomy spots for RVs, a pool, pickleball court, small office and community center and a maintenance building.
It will be widely paved with a full hookup at each site, Showalter said. He said the larger vehicles will be able to get in and out of a space easily.
“Once you’ve stayed in a resort like that – we travel all over the country and stay in those places – once you’ve stayed there, it’s really hard to go back to some of these really tight campgrounds without all the amenities you need to run your unit,” Showalter said. “I just feel like it’s a definite need in this area and it’s going to bring a lot of people in that will spend money locally.”
He told the Elkhart County Plan Commission in July that they would charge higher rates, that no tents would be permitted and that RV units would have to be 10 years old or newer.
Seven people spoke against the plan at the July 13 meeting of the plan commission, which approved the request. Remonstrators pointed to the loss of farmland, the nature of the area and the condition of the roads.
Andrew Rumfelt said he owns a firing range and training ground nearby and needs to maintain his privacy. Showalter said he met with as many neighbors as he could and listened to their concerns.
Showalter added Monday that the sites will be short-term rentals with no seasonal camping.
“We don’t want that. It’s not what we’re going for. We don’t want sheds, we don’t want decks, we don’t want stuff like that,” he said. “When they leave, we want to be able to be able to blow the site off with a blower and mow and weed-eat and be back to square one.”
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