Campground owners fear
rules may hurt business
FREEHOLD TOWNSHIP — Mike and Nancy Beck, the owners of the Pine Cone Campground, Georgia Road, attended the Township Committee’s workshop meeting last week to explain why a move to amend a local ordinance regulating campground occupancy might hurt their business.
The ordinance was introduced last month and a public hearing is scheduled for the committee’s April 22 meeting.
The amendment to the general ordinance would restrict the occupancy of any campsite to between April 1 to Oct. 31 and campers would not be allowed to stay for more than 15 consecutive days during any month. From Nov. 1 to March 31, occupancy would not be allowed for more than 15 consecutive days, but it also limits that to 21 days in total between those months.
In addition, occupancy at any time during the year by the same person or persons in a campground would not be permitted for more than 120 days in any calendar year and unoccupied camping units and equipment would not be permitted to remain on any campsite.
The only campground in Freehold Township affected by the ordinance amendment is Pine Cone, near the Howell border.
Mayor Raymond Kershaw said township officials want to be proactive so that problems will not develop in the future.
The Becks said they have their own internal controls and a limited, six-month season.
Mike Beck explained that the dynamics of the camping industry have changed over the years.
In the letter to Township Administrator Tom Antus, the Becks wrote that the proposed ordinance amendment would have a very negative effect on their business.
"We started Pine Cone Campground in 1979 with my father, Harry Harper, who was a former township committeeman and mayor of Freehold Township. He worked closely with the township government at that time to develop the licensing and regulations for the campground," the couple wrote.
The Becks said that over the past 24 years they have operated a clean, quiet campground.
"We have never had, nor intend to have, the problems documented in the newspaper regarding campgrounds in Jackson. As business owners, we realize that it would be a detriment to our business to allow live-in residents to remain on the grounds in increasingly deteriorating trailers," they said.
But, they explained, people come to the campgrounds for a variety of reasons. Some are full-time RV’ers who are retirees and travel around the country. They may stay overnight or for a month or two. Others are family vacationers who want to be close to the New Jersey shore or Six Flags Great Adventure, New York City or Philadelphia. They may stay overnight or for several days.
In addition, their campground, and most other campgrounds, have seasonal rentals. These rentals are limited to weekends only plus three weeks use during the summer, with the RV remaining on site, the Becks said.
Besides vacationers, campers also include people working in the area for a few months. According to the Becks, people in that situation may own a trailer or motor home and stay in a campground as an alternative to staying in a hotel or trying to rent an apartment for a few months.
There are other kinds of campers, like former residents of the state who return in the summer to visit friends and family.
"Many Florida residents do this and are referred to as ‘snow birds,’ " they explained, adding that another campground user may be out-of-state residents receiving medical treatments at New York-New Jersey hospitals.
The couple also said they have campers from all over the world coming to stay at their campground. Many of them come from Europe and last year they had guests from New Zealand.
Township Committeeman Anthony Ammiano said he has friends who are campers and they told him the Pine Cone Campground has a very good reputation.
Committee members made it clear they had no desire to negatively impact the couple’s business, but said they need to have rules in place for the future. They requested a copy of the Becks’ rules and bylaws.
Antus said, "We’ll come up with something that works for everybody."
— Linda DeNicola