Plans for controversial campground in Benner Township take next step despite opposition

The Benner Township Supervisors approved a conditional use permit Tuesday for a controversial campground at the Bellefonte Airport, though it comes with a lengthy list of stipulations that stem from residents’ concerns.

Bellefonte Airport Manager John Elnitski submitted two previous conditional use applications for the campground in 2021 that were both denied. He appealed the denial of the permit, with the case making its way to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, where it was dismissed. In resubmitting the plans this summer, Elnitksi provided an updated proposal that he said satisfied all of the previously-unmet zoning ordinances, like having the proper amount of recreation space.

But residents continue to have safety, traffic and noise concerns about the proposal. About 40 people attended Tuesday’s meeting, some of whom still aren’t happy despite the stipulations placed on the permit.

The proposal shows plans for a 30-acre, 100-lot campground, complete with 60 RV spaces and 40 “tiny home” spaces to be located at 225 Snowbird Lane. Elnitski said he envisions the campground serving as an economic driver for the Bellefonte area, especially during Penn State football weekends.

During Tuesday’s meeting, resident Darrell Hubert reminded the supervisors of what township solicitor Rodney Beard wrote about the campground in 2022 when the appeal was filed — that it was “unsuitable,” and would be “injurious to the health, safety and welfare of the community.”

But Supervisor Randy Moyer, who was asked about his personal opinion on the permit, explained some of the difficulties of turning down a conditional use application that met all of the required ordinances.

“My opinion is my solicitor wrote this report to me and says that we really don’t have a choice but to approve this, that’s what’s changed for me,” Moyer said.

He also shared that the Pennsylvania Bureau of Aviation sent an email to Elinitski, detailing the bureau’s belief that the airport’s safety concerns could be appropriately addressed throughout the development of the project.

At last month’s public hearing, Supervisor Kathy Evey — who recused herself from all votes relating to the campground as she owns property along Snowbird Lane — claimed that because Snowbird Lane is a private road, Elnitski doesn’t have right of way to Raymond Lane and visitors shouldn’t be able to use those streets to access the campground.

In July, planning commission member Lynn Chaplin didn’t mince her words when talking about the campground either, calling it a “terrible idea” that seemed “so unfair” to the people living in the quiet, residential area next to the airport.

At that meeting, Elnitski responded to Chaplin, saying that his “airport engineer thinks its a great idea,” while also remarking on on Beard’s previous comments on the campground, calling them “a weak argument.”

What conditions were placed on the permit?

Supervisors Larry Lingle and Randy Moyer voted to approve the permit, but also slapped onto it a list of 45 conditions that Elnitski must follow to maintain the permit. Each condition was based off of a concern heard at the public hearing.

The conditions that garnered the most positive reactions from the campground’s objectors include:

• The airport and adjacent campground must be separately fenced in by fencing of equal height and quality to that which the State College Regional Airport uses.
• All campfires at the campground must be smokeless, as smoke could distract or impair the vision of arriving pilots.
• The sale of alcohol and other intoxicating substances is prohibited at the campground.
• The applicant must conduct and provide the township with a traffic impact study applicable to the traffic to be generated as a result of the RV campground facility. If road improvements are required, the applicant must be the one to make them.
• A landscaping screen of vegetation no shorter than six-feet-tall must be build to shield the facility from adjacent residential uses.
• If the campground isn’t constructed in its entirety and operational in two years, the permit will be considered void.
• If the campground is abandoned for 12 months or more after operations begin, the permit will be considered void
• The general hours of operation for the RV campground facility will be between the hours of 7 a.m. and 8 p.m., with no noise to be emanating from the facility beyond 10 p.m.

Other conditions include additional insurance, zoning and land-use requirements.

While the many conditions satisfied some, others like Christine Line, an attorney representing Willow Grove Estates residents amid the township’s PFAS issues, remained skeptical of who was going to be enforcing them, given that the township doesn’t have a police force.

Beard said that Mike Lesniak, the township’s zoning officer, would be in charge of enforcing and carrying out penalties related to the conditions.

Moving forward, there are still many hoops that Elnitski needs to jump through before his long-planned campground can become reality. That starts with the completion of a traffic study and the approval of the campground’s land development plans by the Centre County Planning Commission.

Once the study is complete and the plans are approved by the commission, Elnitski must then get approval from the Bureau of Aviation, the township’s planning commission and eventually supervisors, in that order.

Only then, when all studies approvals are completed, can ground be broken on the project, which must be completed and fully operational by Sept. 2, 2027.

More information on the campground will be shared at future Benner Township meetings, which take place at 7 p.m. on the first Monday of each month.