Getting a grip on glamping: a summary

Click here to read this story (with photos) in full by Moab journalist Rachel Fixsen for The Corner Post

Garfield County, Utah, welcomes the new Under Canvas glampground, which will bring economic benefits and jobs to the area. While some counties embrace glamping development, others, like Grand County, are grappling with the impact on housing and are considering regulations to ensure workforce housing and manage growth. Planners across the Four Corners area are adapting to the growing popularity of glamping and its implications for rural landscapes.

The ordinance is not intended to limit new glampgrounds in Garfield County. In fact, Figgins welcomes the new Under Canvas site, which will open its first phase after the construction of 50 tents, each with a private bathroom. Rates will start at about $350 a night. Another 50 units are proposed for phase two and plans for a third phase include more luxurious tents that could cost as much as $1,000 a night. The county’s current glamping code would have to be amended, or an exemption created, to allow for that third phase to happen.

“They’ll probably bring a lot of [transient room tax] and sales tax revenue to the county, but they’ve also been just great for the community,” Figgins said, noting that Under Canvas has purchased several homes in Panguitch and Tropic to use as employee housing, and that they’ll offer jobs to locals at higher-than-average wages.  Figgins is upbeat about how the company’s $7.5 million investment in Garfield County could help its economy.

Other Utah counties have followed Garfield County’s lead in creating glamping ordinances. Piute County’s ordinance is closely modeled after it. Kane County has incorporated glamping into its land-use code, allowing glamping as a conditional use in its agricultural, rural and commercial zones.

While new development is seen as a boon in many parts of rural southern Utah, residents in other areas are feeling overwhelmed by the pace of growth.

In Grand County, for example, hotels and tourism businesses have proliferated while a dearth of housing options for local workers has created a crisis. County leaders have tried various tactics to spur the development of affordable housing, including requiring new overnight rental projects to offer assured workforce housing in order to get approval. Campgrounds, though, are exempt from this requirement under current code. The county is currently undertaking a broad overhaul of its land-use code, and some or all campgrounds (or glampgrounds) may be subject to the assured housing requirement after the revision.

Grand County doesn’t have a glampground ordinance, though it is receiving applications for glamping-style projects. Planning Administrator Elissa Martin said the county has received three this year, two using tent-style structures and one using small cabins. The county has removed any kind of overnight accommodations—hotels or campgrounds—as a permitted use in any zone; such developments must be considered by the county commission, and approval is based on how well those developments meet a set of desired criteria. Two of the three glampground applications were approved.

Grand is also working on defining glampgrounds in its code. Martin said officials are envisioning them as small developments with some kind of theme or purpose beyond just accommodation. For example, one of the approved glampgrounds brands itself as an astronomy education center and plans to offer guided stargazing.

One proposed high-end glampground along the north entry corridor into Moab (which was not approved) would have had significant impacts compared to some smaller glampgrounds—including a pool and clubhouse in an undeveloped area with limited water resources. At the same time, it offered a plan to put hundreds of acres of privately-owned open space into a conservation easement.

The proposal could return to the County Commission with a more favorable vote if the land-use code update allows the county to legally bind the developer to its conservation easement promise, something not provided in the current code.

While glamping isn’t an entirely new concept, it is newly fashionable, and developers are eager to take advantage of untapped acreage in scenic landscapes. Planners across the Four Corners area will have to be as adaptive and creative as the newest resorts.

• Glamping development proposal near Moab is generating an uproar. By Zak Podmore for Salt Lake Tribune.
• Termination of the Under Canvas lease announced. By Ron Drake for The Moab Times-Independent.
• Thanking those who opposed Under Canvas Project. By Harry Holland for Moab Times-Independent.
• Horrified for Looking Glass Rock. By Dailey Haren for Moab Times-Independent.
• Luxury eco-retreat proposed near 191 and 313 Junction. By Rachel Fixsen for Moab Sun News.