The bed and breakfast operation and event space proposed in Camden Point has cleared an appeal brought by opponents to the Platte County Board of Zoning Adjustment last month.
The Platte County Planning and Zoning Commission approved a special use permit in January, with neighbors Forest and Steve Menke and Sylvia and Earl Anderson filing an appeal of that approval to the board of adjustment, which was heard Tuesday, June 12. Board chair Chris Donnelli issued a decision affirming the decision of the planning and zoning commission.
The 40-acre property located at 16015 Highway E already contains a home and barn, which David Holland hopes to transform into an agri-tourism business. The approximately 4,200 square foot, three bedroom home would be turned into a bed and breakfast and the barn into an event space able to host weddings and other functions. The special use application was submitted to Platte County Planning and Zoning late last year, with county staff recommending approval by the commission.
In January, the planning and zoning commission heard lengthy testimony from those both opposed to and in support of the proposal.
In the appeal, filed in April, opponents stated the special use permit was granted “based on false and misleading information on the permit application, a loophole in the county’s vague definition of agriculture tourism and improper influence by Rhb Properties (the applicant) on the commission.”
Those opposed to the facility have stated concerns about increased traffic on Highway E, noise pollution, negative impact on property values, invasion of privacy and liability. A petition with 121 signatures of area residents opposed to the application was received by planning and zoning in January, as were dozens of emails of neighbors in support.
For the Andersons, the facility would be right across the street.
“The request by Rhb Properties has turned our peaceful community into a battleground as we try to protect our neighborhood from property devaluation by out-of-town investors,” the Andersons wrote in a letter to the planning and zoning commission late last year.
They argued that events held in the barn could cause disruptions to nearby residents and that such a use is not “agri-tourism.” There are already 10 wedding venues within 16 miles they said, and the new property owners are not Platte County residents.
These concerns were reiterated in the appeal heard last month by the board of adjustment. In the appeal, opponents said the property would not be occupied by the owners, who live in Kearney and Liberty, but by the college-aged son of one of the owners.
No agriculture or tourism are involved, they say, negating the agri-tourism designation sought by the new owners.
“We ask that Platte County clarify their current definition of agri-tourism to prevent financial investors, such as Rhb Properties, from using the agri-tourism tax and zoning advantages designed to help farmers for personal profit alone,” the appeal states.
Opponents also claimed the permit hearing in December and approval in January were handled inappropriately, that no traffic study had been conducted to gauge impacts, that alcohol usage on the property will not be monitored and there is no enforcement for noise pollution violations.
They also argue that the usage is not similar to venues cited in the staff reports, such as Jowler Creek Winery and Green Dirt Farm.
The board of adjustment upheld the 5-3 January vote of the planning and zoning commission, approving the special use permit for agri-tourism and bed and breakfast use for 30 years. Some conditions were imposed, however.
The property owners must install a 48-inch tall metal barrier fence along the southern property line within six months; a hard-surfaced entrance acceptable to Missouri Department of Transportation standards must be installed at Highway E; signage at the entrance area must have downward facing light shields, events must be limited to 200 guests and wedding venue hours of operation are limited to 9 a.m. to 11 p.m.
“The location and size of the special use, the nature and intensity of the operation involved in or conducted in connection with, and the location of the site with respect to the streets giving access are such that the special use will not dominate the immediate neighborhood as to prevent development and use of neighboring property,” the board wrote in its report, reiterating that the proposed special use would not adversely affect the welfare of the public or injure property values in the area.