By Jane Meggitt, Special Writer
The Planning Board will be asked to weigh in on a request to extend the maximum annual occupancy of a local campground from 70 days to 180 days.
The Route 537 property, formerly known as Laurel Pond RV Resort, is now operating as Crystal Springs Wilderness Lodge and RV Resort. The property’s new owners made the request through a letter to municipal clerk Dana Tyler and in person at the July 10 Township Committee meeting.
The decision to have the request reviewed by the Planning Board was made by the governing body at the Aug. 7 Township Committee meeting.
Committeeman Robert Faber said he was not in favor of extending the time limit to 180 days.
Committeeman Stan Moslowski Jr. suggested a 120-day time limit.
Deputy Mayor Robert Frascella, who ran the meeting in the absence of Mayor Lorisue Horsnall Mount, said the new owners want to market the resort to “snowbirds,” who might want to spend half the year in Florida or a similar climate and the rest of the year locally.
Township Administrator Dianne Kelly, who served on the Planning Board at the time of the original Laurel Pond RV Resort application, said this type of campground is geared toward vacationers, rather than a semi-permanent type of existence. The board spent a lot of time discussing that issue, and many of the current board members served on the board when the decision was made, according to Ms. Kelly. She recalled that the Planning Board made the decision regarding the 70-day limit because they were trying to avoid creating a trailer park atmosphere.
”If you allow someone to stay six months, basically you have a trailer park,” she said.
Township Attorney Dennis Collins said if the new owners are targeting the “snowbird” market, they could consider a different type of restriction. He suggested a longer summer period and a short winter period, rather than a total day restriction. Permitting occupancy primarily during the summer months would also allay concerns about children possibly enrolling in the school system, he said.
At the July meeting, the owners’ attorney, Seth Josephson, said a deed restriction would ensure that no unit owner or tenant could claim the unit as a permanent residence or register children in the Upper Freehold Regional School District, and they had the legal ability to prevent an owner or tenant from doing so.

