Campground as practical commune/ecovillage? (apartments, house, purchase)

[Silverfall]

Originally Posted by NaomiRae

Thank you for the explanation and resources Wytchcat, that will definitely give me a place to start and it's more than what I had!

Silverfall - That's actually kind of surprising since a lot of people live permanently in RVs at campsites. Is it just the permanency that makes it impossible to zone? And do you know of any way to achieve what we are going for here? The only other thing I can think of is that in a lot of areas it's acceptable to do this for farm workers and there is a way to zone it - which would be fine for our purposes, it would just take away the income aspect.

No. It is our strict zoning laws that don't allow permanent homes on campgrounds. They are temporary by definition. You can't achieve what you are going for here (in Oregon) except on land designated as multi-family with a specific density allowance. Those will be within city limits and then city codes kick in. I don't see a city approving what you want.

EFU (Exclusive Farm Use) zone allows for buildings for farm workers, but that land must be farmed and you need to show income. Otherwise, there are significant tax implications for failing to farm on farm land. Yes, I am sure there are many places outside of Oregon where you can do what you want, but Oregon doesn't allow it. Zoning determines what you can do on a piece of land. You don't get to say, I want to do this here, and then try and change the zoning. While you can request a zoning change, they generally only allow them for things like having a house on a busy street, converting to commercial when everything around it is commercial kind of stuff. The state of Oregon requires that there be so much of a certain zone within the zoning plans put out by cities and counties.

[Nell Plotts]

You could explore the zoning requirements for a mobile home park. You COULD explore making your mobile home park a cooperative but that would make your life really complicated if your plan doesn't work out.

[Elk Wallow]

Originally Posted by Silverfall

Well when you split the deed to create the two parcels, then each can build one house per zoning laws. You can only have more than one house on multi-family zoned lots, or EFU zones which allow for buildings for workers.

If its zoned RR 2 you cannot split it into 1 acre lots. If it RR 5, has to be 5 acres, RR 10, you cannot split it into less that 10 acres- without a $6000 attempt at zoning change, in curry County anyway. Not only that, you cannot camp on your own land in an RV or even a tent while you are building.

[Larry Caldwell]

The solution is one large house. Within minimum living space limits, you can put as many people as you want in a house. If you are living communally, you want to share cooking facilities anyway. A septic for a 12 bedroom house would be extensive but possible. If you are sharing expenses, it should be easily doable. You should consult an attorney about incorporating to keep ownership shares straight.

[Silverfall]

Originally Posted by Elk Wallow

If its zoned RR 2 you cannot split it into 1 acre lots. If it RR 5, has to be 5 acres, RR 10, you cannot split it into less that 10 acres- without a $6000 attempt at zoning change, in curry County anyway. Not only that, you cannot camp on your own land in an RV or even a tent while you are building.

I think they were asking about a 5 acre parcel that had two separate tax lots (2.5 for each tax lot) in that one parcel. They said it was RR2/AR2 which is two acre lot minimum.

[Nell Plotts]

I like Larry's suggestion best. Keep in mind that those large 'community' living arrangements are not new to Oregon.

[NaomiRae]

I actually was able to get a hold of a few county planners to talk to them - in OR the permanent residences on the campgrounds I have found aren't technically on "campgrounds", the land is zoned differently and the home is placed close to the business, and depending on that size of land another dwelling could be added, or land around it rezoned, etc. They are just sold together. Obviously it depends on the specific land, but it is theoretically possible.

Another option we are seeing is building cabins and "renting" them out long term, which I spaced out about.

My husband and I are wary about having some sort of shared ownership of the place in general, but that is something we need to to look into more. Ideally we would own it ourselves and pay for it ourselves, while the other families came there. Mainly because this is one of those things where a lot of people think they will LOVE it, and then find out they actually don't. I wouldn't want a plan to fall apart because of that, and I would also like it to be easy for someone to leave if they find it isn't for them, especially since there will be children involved. For similar reasons I'm not quite fond of one big house either.

[gray horse]

Originally Posted by NaomiRae

I actually was able to get a hold of a few county planners to talk to them - in OR the permanent residences on the campgrounds I have found aren't technically on "campgrounds", the land is zoned differently and the home is placed close to the business, and depending on that size of land another dwelling could be added, or land around it rezoned, etc. They are just sold together. Obviously it depends on the specific land, but it is theoretically possible.

Another option we are seeing is building cabins and "renting" them out long term, which I spaced out about.

My husband and I are wary about having some sort of shared ownership of the place in general, but that is something we need to to look into more. Ideally we would own it ourselves and pay for it ourselves, while the other families came there. Mainly because this is one of those things where a lot of people think they will LOVE it, and then find out they actually don't. I wouldn't want a plan to fall apart because of that, and I would also like it to be easy for someone to leave if they find it isn't for them, especially since there will be children involved. For similar reasons I'm not quite fond of one big house either.

I would get it all in writing from the planners you spoke with. I have done extensive research on additional dwellings on EFU land, for example on high value soil you must make $80K a year gross income for at least 3 years to get one farm accessory dwelling for farm help, $50K on low value soil...or you can have a family member that helps to run the farm living in the accessory dwelling. No way are you going to put up multiple buildings and rent them. I got busted by the County for renting out an older house on my property.

As someone mentioned before, there are farming families that have hundreds of acres that can't build additional houses for family members. In Oregon, just because you have the land...does not mean you can use it just anyway. It's just the way it is.

Your best bet is to buy an existing camp that has been grandfathered in, or build a BIG house.

ETA:
You know a while back I saw a listing for a hotel / campground with cabins I think in Grant's Pass on the Rogue...that type of thing may work? I would check with the city / county though to make sure you can have permanent residents?

[Wytchcat]

We aren't even sure yet what her not yet picked land is zoned as in which county... Maybe I'm off base but it may not even be EFU.

Maybe she buys a multi lot parcel as I have. 4-6 2 acre lots and if each lot is R2 that is 4-6 residences.

Play it by ear... it's incredibly easy to dream or frustrate oneself with what ifs but these are all fairly nebulous ones as yet.

[gray horse]

Originally Posted by Wytchcat

We aren't even sure yet what her not yet picked land is zoned as in which county... Maybe I'm off base but it may not even be EFU.

Maybe she buys a multi lot parcel as I have. 4-6 2 acre lots and if each lot is R2 that is 4-6 residences.

Play it by ear... it's incredibly easy to dream or frustrate oneself with what ifs but these are all fairly nebulous ones as yet.

You are absolutely correct, the OP may have millions of dollars to spend on her dream...so technically she could go buy parcels in a development and build multiple houses...but that's not what I think of, when I think "campground".