The Montgomery County Council unanimously approved a zoning measure Tuesday that will allow campgrounds to be built in more types of zoned areas throughout the county, including the upcounty Agricultural Reserve, with a goal of boosting agritourism.
Currently, campgrounds are only allowed in the Rural (R) and Residential Estate 2C (RE-2C) zones under the county zoning ordinance.
The zoning text amendment was sponsored by councilmembers Marilyn Balcombe (D-Dist. 2), Sidney Katz (D-Dist. 3), Natali Fani-González (D-Dist. 6) and Dawn Luedtke (D-Dist. 7).
It will allow campgrounds for tents and recreational vehicles in the Agricultural (AR) and specific Residential Rural (RC) zones. The Agricultural Reserve is a 93,000-acre zoned area in the upcounty where only one house is allowed per 25 acres, according to zoning laws. Overnight stays also would be allowed, with a goal of boosting agritourism in the county, according to county officials.
Under the county code, a campground is defined as a “parcel, lot, or tract of land used for two or more tent or recreational vehicle campsites.” This definition does not include manufactured homes.
“[The change] allows farmers the opportunity to have a small, additional revenue stream and it adds a family-friendly, experiential component to the farm,” Balcombe said prior to the council’s vote Tuesday. “It provides visitors another way to learn more about farming and the importance of the Ag Reserve.”
The legislation is a new version of a previous bill sponsored by Fani-González and introduced in November 2023 that would have allowed tourists to stay overnight on farms as part of agritourism activities. That zoning measure would have updated the county’s zoning ordinance to allow incidental overnight stays on farms with agritourism businesses with certain limits.
Under the previously proposed legislation, accessory agricultural education and tourism activities would have had to be conducted as part of the farm’s regular operation. Overnight stays would have had to occur in structures separate from any residence on the property and cooking facilities would have been prohibited in sleeping quarters structures. Only two people over the age of 18 could have stayed in one structure, and only for a maximum of four days per week. Each farm or facility would have been allowed to have a maximum of 10 structures for overnight stays.
However, that bill drew controversy, with local farm associations voicing concern that the zoning amendment would lead to increased development in the Agricultural Reserve and other rural areas.
Luedtke said when introducing the most recent bill in June that its proposed zoning text amendment is designed to prevent a “sprawl” of development in the Agricultural Reserve.
The proposal “takes that commitment seriously, and it contains a number of critical standards for campground use, including requiring that the property be primarily used for farming, allowing only properties of 25 acres or larger to take part in this program, and limiting the size and impact of campgrounds to protect water levels and ensure this land can be used for farming in the future,” Luedtke said.
However, at a July 16 public hearing, some members of the county’s farming community weren’t happy with revamped bill, saying it would hurt farmland in the county.
The proposal is “nothing more than an assault on the integrity of the agricultural reserve,” said Patricia Milligan, who owns a farm in the reserve. “This was done for money and not for the good of the farmers, the residents, humans and others or the land.”
But others praised the bill, including representatives from the Montgomery County Farm Bureau and Montgomery Agricultural Producers, an organization representing local farmers who want to protect the agricultural reserve. Some farmers said during the hearing they already had plans to allow overnight stays on their farms if the bill passed.
“[This would provide] the opportunity for young farmers like ourselves to welcome guests to our farm for an immersive and educational farm day, while creating vital supplemental income with low energy and environmental impact,” said Ashley Johnson, one of the owners of Burnt Hill Farm in Clarksburg.
Before voting Tuesday, Balcombe acknowledged the varying views and the previous iteration of the legislation.
“The real hero in this effort is the community. You spoke very loud and clear and shared the majority of your concerns,” Balcombe said. “I particularly want to thank you for your grace and willingness to work with us to come up with a compromise that I believe will offer limited overnight stays while protecting this very important resource.”