Residents are concerned about the development of the RV Campground

By Irene van der Kloet

In Hamlin, a rural community in Smoky Lake County, residents are concerned about the construction of an RV park in their area. The quarter section on which the park is located was purchased in 2020 by Richard Kimmitt. Until then, this was an old motorcycle campground set up for tenting with minimal facilities. The RV park in the making – Northern Lights RV Park – is intended to become a luxury park with 400 stalls, a pool, a splash park, a day area and many other amenities, which will likely attract high traffic to the park and surrounding area. Much work has already been done: old fences have been removed, trees have been removed, roads have been built, power poles have been installed, and sites have been developed. The developer held two open houses to drive memberships. The park will operate on memberships, meaning people wanting to park their RV there will need to purchase a membership. As not every member will occupy a stall all the time, more memberships are being sold than there are stalls to ensure maximum use of the stalls. Some residents surrounding the park are unhappy with these developments. Their concerns pertain to several issues they brought forward to Smoky Lake County, but primarily that the County did not follow the proper procedure: the residents are concerned that Smoky Lake County did not implement an Area Structure Plan that the County Planning and Development Officer stated in writing would occur. This would have allowed for public consultation, and the residents would have had input in the development from the beginning. One main issue is whether applicable permits have been issued to the developer. The residents state that the permit given to the original motorcycle campground does not apply to the RV park and, above all, expired in 2014. This would indicate that the developer needs a permit to do the work already being done and in process. Bulldozers are working daily, trees are being removed, wetlands are being rerouted on the property, and residents are wondering why the county has not supervised the construction. Other concerns pertain to access to the property from highway 652 and light pollution in a naturally dark area. Residents also expressed their sincere concern about RV park visitors accessing their lands on quads, destroying fences and disturbing wildlife. These residents have brought forward all these grievances to Smoky Lake County numerous times, resulting in an appeal to the County Development Board, which was discussed in two sessions on December 15 and 21. The emotions ran high in an extensive discussion in which the residents presented their grievances in detailed reports read during the meeting. The County Development Appeal Board will review the residents’ concerns and will announce their decision on January 19.