OAKHURST – Developer Red Tail Acquisitions LLC will host a public meeting on Thursday, Jan. 31, from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. in the Pavillion Building of the Oakhurst Community Center to get public comment on the RV and camping park proposed for Road 632 (Sky Ranch Road).
Red Tail Acquisitions has requested a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) from the County to allow for a Recreational Vehicle (RV) Resort with mix of RV sites, cabins, and camping sites.
The request includes a General Plan Amendment from RR (Rural Residential) to CC (Community Commercial), and to amend the Oakhurst Area Plan from RR (Rural Residential) to CC (Community Commercial).
The proposal was initially heard at the regular meeting of the Planning Commission on Jan. 8, but no action was taken. After several residents of the Road 632 area expressed concerns, a vote on the CUP was delayed in order to allow the developer to meet with the public.
At the meeting in Oakhurst this Thursday, Tim Kihm, project manager for Red Tail Acquisitions, will do a brief presentation and address the interests and concerns of residents.
The proposal will then be revisited at the regular meeting of the Planning Commission on Feb. 12 at 6 p.m. This meeting will also be held at the Oakhurst Community Center.
The project would be built on parcels approximately 38.62 acres in combined size, about one-quarter mile east of Highway 41. This location, on the north side of the road, had once been an active mill site. The site is vacant and has had grading done and some infrastructure as a result of previous uses.
It is anticipated that there will be between 250 and 850 visitors per day, with the facility being open year-round. The plan allocates 333 parking spaces for on-site use including 109 RV spaces, 55 camping sites, 34 car camp sites, 26 walk-in sites, 6 yurts, 20 Air Streams, 11 Montana tents, 14 tree house cabins, 5 assorted buildings, 5 service buildings, 12 trash enclosures, and 36 guest/ employee parking spots.
The Staff Report submitted to the Planning Commission describes the development as follows:
The facility is intended for a range of camping accommodations including tent camping, RV spaces and cabins. Site amenities include a check-in office, gift shop/store, pool house lodge, pool, spa, restrooms, clubhouse, walking trails, and natural open space.
The intent of the project is to provide a quality family oriented RV resort, offering a comprehensive number of amenities and services, adding to the overall experience at Sky Ranch. Except for the site manager, full-time living will not be allowed. The character of Sky Ranch matches Oakhurst, utilizing natural wood and colors, as well as heavy wood beams and stone.
Capitalizing on views and focusing on connections to the outdoors, the built structures incorporate a considerable amount of glass to maximize transparency to the outdoor environment.
All existing onsite structures will be demolished or relocated. Outdoor recreation is provided throughout the project and caters to a range of abilities, including: bocce ball, dog park, linear green par course trail, pool, open lawn areas, volleyball, pickle-ball (a cross between tennis, badminton and Ping-Pong), and slides/play area.
The site was previously developed as a saw mill with several building pads and associated log processing areas, including various lay down areas for the harvested logs and storage areas still being evident. A dominant remnant structure from the previous use as a saw mill is the metal conical smokestack.
The site is crisscrossed with various roads, graded pads, paths and man-made water conveyance ditches used to collect and recycle the water sprayed on the stored logs to prevent the drying out of the wood. A significant portion of the site has been previously scraped, brushed, and masticated with some drought and pine bark beetle impacted tree stands removed to reduce potential fire fuel load.
Tourism and recreational resort development, generated by Yosemite National Park, Bass Lake and Sierra National Forest attractions, have replaced lumber as the primary economic development base. More than one million people enter Yosemite National Park through the south gate entrance on Highway 41 which passes through Oakhurst. The impacts of tourism on the community are most significant during summer months, when vehicular trips along Highway 41 are the highest. While tourism drops during the winter months, there is still a call for amenities along Highway 41, of which this RV park can play a part of.
The entire proposal is available online on the County website at https://www.maderacounty.com/home/showdocument?id=14333
