County Commissioners approve Lazy Acres RV Park

A new RV park in Seeley Lake has been solidified after the Missoula County Commissioners approved a subdivision request on Aug. 10

The Lazy Acres RV Park could be in operation as soon as next year, according to park executive Brandon Groesner, but that hinges on approving additional permits and accepting bids for work. Dave Stewart is the landowner partnering with IMEG to create the park.

The commissioners approved the subdivision with a 2-0 vote. Josh Slotnik and Juanita Vero approved the project, while Dave Strohmaier was absent from the meeting.

The RV park will include roughly 70 spots, almost two acres of park space, a camp store, camp office, a dump station and showers. The park will stretch from the Montana One Stop to the Seeley Swan Medical Center on three plots totaling 14 acres.

RV parks are approved with the same process as a subdivision, so plans were looked over for road width, tree cover and other area residents. Five variances were approved by the commissioners to shorten widths of roads and exclude RV Park lanes from needing trails.

Commissioners approved 16-foot interior lanes with 20-foot main roads, which are used just for the RV park. The required road widths are generally used for residential subdivisions, according to Tim Worley, a planner at Missoula County.

Concerns came up during the meeting, including covenants on the property, increased traffic, a safe septic system, wildlife and long-term residents. The commissioners went through each concern with Worley before approving the project.

The covenants, or private terms between landowners that come with a property, will still be a hot topic for the future of the park.

Lawyers from the Seeley Swan Hospital argued in a July letter that the subdivision does not allow RVs, mobile homes, campers, motorhomes or tents because of previous covenants. Lawyers for the developers argued the observed right of the declarant or delarent successor, who approved the project, should trump any covenant claims by the hospital.

"We submitted a letter doing a different analysis of the covenants in 2020," said Chris Johnson, a lawyer who represents the IMEG and the landowner. "Our analysis and our covenants and the liability on this has not changed,"

Missoula County Commissioner Josh Slotnik said since the county has no involvement with private covenants, the developers can go through with the application, but could be subject to the covenants in another venue.

"It's definitely not our problem," Slotnik said.

A traffic study done by the applicant in 2019 said there would be no impact to Highway 83, but further analysis by the Montana Department of Transportation is required by the state. There will be an additional fire hydrant located on the northwest side of the property.

A community septic system plan has been developed, which will be subject to Department of Environmental Quality standards when the applicant acquires a discharge permit for the site.

Paul Forsting with IMEG said the company and landowners have been working on the RV Park since 2018. He said the park was first proposed when a Seeley Lake sewer was potentially getting installed.

Since developing a wastewater system, he said the septic will be a project of its own that will last the lifetime of the RV park.

"We can have a wastewater solution that will work," Frosting. "We didn't believe it was a good route to take with that hanging in the wind."

The community septic will be for the RV Park users only, and area water testing will be required at least every three months, and the permit must be reapplied for every five years. The use will likely be during the summer months, but there's potential to open it longer if there is a need.

"I don't know if the need is there," Groesner said. "That's not the intention in my mind at the moment."

One need Groesner heard from area businesses were some long term RV spots where employees can live in the summertime. Housing is scarce in Seeley Lake, he said, and it could be a good partnership with businesses. He said he is undecided on the issue.

There was one public commenter who attended the meeting virtually, and asked how trash will be removed from the site. Groesner said both Republic Services and Grizzly Disposal have commercial availability to take trash from the RV Park to Missoula. Bear resistant containers will be required.

Groesner said the reason he wanted to start an RV park stemmed from family coming to visit him at his state-leased cabin in Seeley during the summer, but struggled to find camping in the chain of lakes.

"I think some of our neighbors don't want Seeley to grow and change," Groesner said. "They don't want the extra traffic or people in front of them at the grocery store. Change is inevitable and it tends to happen whether we like it or not. I am embracing this change to keep Seeley as much like it is as it grows."