Background

The vision statement of the Skamania County Comprehensive Plan is:

“Skamania County is strongly committed to protecting our rural character and natural resource-based industries while allowing for planned future development that is balanced with the protection of critical resources and ecologically sensitive areas, while preserving the community’s high quality of life.”

The comprehensive plan further states that “Skamania County is a focal point of year round recreational opportunities” which include “boating, fishing, hunting, camping, hiking, snowmobiling, cross-country skiing, wildflower hiking tours, hot mineral springs day spas, golf courses, windsurfing, and kite boarding.” The plan further states that ”Skamania County should strive to improve recreational opportunities throughout the County including enhancing public access to the waterways.”

While recreation development is supported by the Comprehensive Plan and the various subarea plans, until recently, the zoning code lacked clear guidelines for what types of recreational uses should be allowed and where. In order to better implement the Comprehensive Plan’s recreation goals, the Board of County Commissioners recently adopted new code amendments related to recreational development.

New regulations

The County’s recent code amendments promote the development of recreational facilities related to the county's abundant recreational, scenic, and natural amenities in a manner that is respectful of adjoining land uses and consistent with the Comprehensive Plan.

First, the amendments identify six distinct types of recreational facility types. These facility types are based on the types of recreational facilities that currently existing throughout the county and include:

• Indoor recreational facilities
• Outdoor recreational facilities
• Campgrounds
• Group camps
• Rural event centers
• Retreat centers

Second, the county has adopted new development standards for recreational facility development. The new standards require that all recreational facilities have adequate off-street parking, utilize dark sky lighting, have adequate provision of bathrooms, and comply with County noise regulations.

Additional use-specific standards have also been adopted for campgrounds, group camps, rural event centers, and retreat centers. All these standards can be found in SCC 21.70.210. Please note that these requirements only apply to commercial and public recreational facilities and not use of a property by a private owner and their guests for their own personal enjoyment.

Next Steps

With these improved recreational facility standards in place, the County is considering allowing recreational facilities to be developed in additional zones, and possibly revising the type of review required in some zones where these uses are already allowed.

There are 34 zones outside of the National Scenic Area in Skamania County. Recreational uses are allowable in 28 of these zones, but only four zones currently allow the development of all six recreational facility types (indoor, outdoor, campgrounds, group camps, rural event centers, and retreat centers). This table shows where recreational facilities are currently allowed.

Proposed changes

Currently, staff is considering the following changes to promote the development of recreational facilities in Skamania County.

• Community Commercial
  • The Community Commercial zone is intended to provide commercial services.
  • Indoor recreational facilities could be an allowable use in this zone.
  • Other recreational facilities including outdoor recreational facilities, campgrounds, group camps, rural event centers, and retreat centers could be conditional uses in this zone.
• Carson – High Density Residential
  • The High Density Residential primarily consists of single-family development on small lots, however, there are some larger parcels that may be suitable for recreational development.
  • Outdoor recreational facilities and campgrounds could be allowed as conditional uses in this zone, potentially on sites greater than 5-acres only.
• Industrial
  • The Industrial zone is intended for the establishment of processing, fabrication, storage, and manufacturing activities. However, properties in this zone with waterfront locations may attract water-related recreational uses.
  • Indoor recreational facilities and outdoor recreational facilities could be allowed as conditional uses in this zone.

• Carson Rural Residential
  • The Carson subarea plan states that recreational facilities should be allowed. Only outdoor facilities are allowed in this zone.
  • Campgrounds could also be allowed as a conditional use.
• Carson Rural Estate
  • The Carson subarea plan states that low-intensity recreational facilities should be allowed, including campgrounds. Only outdoor facilities are allowed in this zone.
  • Campgrounds could also be allowed as a conditional use.
• West End Rural Lands
  • The West End Subarea Plan identifies the Rural Lands zones as areas of lower density residential to preserve rural character. The Rural Lands Designation is separated into subcategories of Rural Lands 2, Rural Lands 5, and Rural Lands 10 based on minimum lot size.
  • Rural Lands 2
    • The subarea plan states that existing legally established scout camps, church camps, and/or youth camps may continue to operate and may apply to expand by conditional use permit. The zoning code allows expansion of group camps by conditional use.
  • Rural Lands 5
    • The subarea plan states that scout camps, church camps, and/or youth camps should be permitted as conditional uses. Groups camps are a conditional use in this zone.
  • Rural Lands 10
    • The subarea plan states that scout camps, church camps, and/or youth camps should be allowed. Groups camps are a conditional use in this zone.
  • Outdoor recreational facilities and campgrounds could be added as conditional uses in these zones. Rural event centers and retreat centers could be appropriate in the Rural Lands 5 or 10 zones as conditional uses.

• Revise Natural (NAT) zone classification to reflect recent changes.
  • The Natural zone is intended for those areas which have extreme importance for the maintenance of natural systems where development may result in a substantial impact.
  • Recreational developments are allowable as conditional uses. Allowing only outdoor recreational facilities would be consistent with the zone’s purpose.

Provide Feedback

The Community Development Department is seeking your input on these proposals by August 31, 2021. Please send your comments to Alan Peters at apeters@co.skamania.wa.us or at PO Box 1009, Stevenson, WA 98648. The Planning Commission will consider this proposal in September 2021.