The Mendocino County Board of Supervisors has discussed the possibility of establishing a new type of permit for residents who want to rent parts of their property as “dude ranches” or “hip camps,” a popular form of temporary lodging for out-of-towners looking to experience the nature of the county.
At Tuesday’s meeting, a lively discussion focused on the setbacks as well as the benefits of creating a detailed permitting process for privately owned campsites.
“I am generally supportive of us having this new ordinance, this is already happening in our county,” said Supervisor Madeline Cline. “I want to have something that’s clear and accessible to the public.”
Supervisor John Haschak noted that commercial private camping has existed for many years in the county and said the board should create the guidelines to help homeowners who want to start their own private campsites and mediate the interactions with the residents who already have unpermitted lodgings on their properties.
“This is happening throughout the county, so how do we get compliance with some of the basic rules we want to see,” Haschak added. “A lot of neighbors are worried that they will be inundated with campers, and how do we regulate it to a degree. We have been dealing with this for a long time, and we should be able to give more direction.”
The possible regulations for the inland region, versus the type of regulations that would be needed for the coastal region, have been a point of discussion among the supervisors, the county planning commission and its Department of Planning and Building Services.
“The concerns on the coast are much more intense than the ones inland. Inland people are concerned about fire, but are looking for some economic development,” said Haschak. “The people on the coast are looking at it as though there are more issues involved.”
Mendocino County has worked for the last few years to develop rules for privately owned commercial campsites but has yet to officially implement them.
The county delayed establishing guidelines for the permits to gather more feedback from local emergency service providers, including fire departments and other community groups. There is also concern that coastal areas, such as Mendocino and Fort Bragg, may require separate regulations due to higher demand for camping along the coast.
The coastal areas are not zoned under the Inland Zoning Code but instead fall under the Mendocino County Local Coastal Program, which is part of the California Coastal Act, so county zoning must comply with additional layers of state oversight.
Public commenters at the supervisors’ meeting included small business operators who use HipCamp, a company similar to Airbnb that allows homeowners to convert their property into camping sites for tourists and visitors.
“I understand the fear,” said Sojourna Lee, the secretary of the Meadow Farm Community Land Trust board, a cooperative farm community just outside of Fort Bragg. Lee lives on the property and coordinates the lodgings and land maintenance.
“On our property, we have three camps, and two cabins. The people that come here don’t leave a scrap, and seem so grateful, and maybe our site is a bit different, but there are good people involved that come from cities. They are so happy to have a camping experience that is quiet.”
The supervisors said there will be workshops where community members can attend and help construct the guidelines on the private camping permits.
“I think most of the people who are coming here to the community are spending money, are quiet, and well behaved,” said Supervisor Ted Williams. “There’s probably some with trailers, packs of dogs, and subwoofers. I think the public concern would be around the 5 percent of people that create massive problems. How do we regulate from the very start that we don’t invite those 5 percent?”
The supervisors will be holding public meetings in each of the supervisor’s districts to discuss the possible regulations. People can contact their supervisor for more information by using this link.
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