The city of Okoboji, one of Iowa’s tourism hot spots, has begun reviewing its zoning rules for RV parks, especially with the growing popularity of RVing.
During the pandemic’s peak, ten million Americans started camping for the first time, according to Campgrounds America.
Okoboji City Administrator Michael Meyers said RV camping is currently allowed in his city’s commercial district along the Highway 71 corridor.
“It just kind of came up here, and we kind of started doing a hard look at our own zoning text and trying to figure out how we fit into that puzzle,” Meyers said. “I think the feel of the community is that we want to make that a conditional use moving forward.”
Making property use conditional in a commercial zone gives Okoboji residents a chance to provide input, according to a report.
“Our zoning districts are generally split into two different sections: permissible uses and conditional uses,” Meyers said. “Conditional uses generally require much more approvals from the city including going through the Planning and Zoning Commission as well as going to the Board of Adjustment, notification of neighbors and just some heightened regulations around the specific use.”
Okoboji’s Planning and Zoning Commission will meet soon to consider these changes, which would ultimately have to be approved by Okoboi’s City Council. According to the RV industry, more than 50 nye campingplasser and RV parks opened this summer in the United States.
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Isn’t it cool that Okoboji is looking into expanding RV camping? Imagine all the new spots they might create for us RV travelers! It’s awesome to see them adapting to our needs and making our visits even better.