Roots and Blues organizers are seeking permission to use local farmland for camping, and to expand the number of allowable campsites from 600 to 1,000.
An application from the Salmon Arm Folk Music Society to the Agricultural Land Commission (ALC) is on the agenda for the city’s development and planning committee meeting of Jan. 6, 2020. Proposed in the application is the use of three parcels of agricultural land at 550, 690 and 1300 10th Ave. SW as a campground during two weeks of the Aug. 2020 music festival.
Included with the application is a letter from Salmon Arm Roots and Blues executive director David Gonella who states, with the low vacancy rates in the summer months, “the use of these campsite properties is crucial to the long-term viability of the event….”
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A staff report notes the ALC and the City of Salmon Arm have supported temporary festival campground use of these properties since 2005.
In addition to the ALC application, a city temporary use permit (TUP is required. The Folk Music Society’s current TUP expires after the 2020 festival. Staff note it was amended last year to extend the number of camping days from four to seven. If successful, the latest ALC application may require another amendment.
The Folk Music Society is asking the ALC to support an expansion of the camping area on the 10th Ave. SW property, and allow up to 1,000 campsites. The current TUP allows up to 600 campsites. Staff say the TUP would either have to be amended, or a new one issued to permit the expansion.
“Due to the convenient location of the campsites to the festival grounds, and the precedence of the Salmon Arm Roots and Blues restoring the land so an agricultural use can continue,” staff is recommending the application be authorized for submission to the ALC.
