[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Council of the Town of West Greenwich 4-13-1966 by Ord. No. 11, as amended 11-9-1988. Subsequent amendments noted where applicable.]
This chapter is adopted for the purpose of promoting the public health, safety, morals, orderly development and general welfare of the Town of West Greenwich, and to encourage the development of orderly and well-managed camping areas in the Town of West Greenwich.
No person shall maintain or operate a camping area within the Town of West Greenwich without a license for the same, except as provided herein.
A. 
Application for a camping area license shall be made in writing to the Town Council and shall be filed with the Town Clerk at least four weeks prior to the special or regularly scheduled Town Council meeting at which a hearing on such application is sought.
B. 
Such application shall contain the following information:
(1) 
The name and address of the applicant.
(2) 
The name and address of the owner of the land on which the camping area is to be established.
(3) 
A description of the facilities intended to be installed on the proposed camping area and the services to be available to persons camping there.
C. 
Such application shall be accompanied by the following:
(1) 
A plat of the proposed camping area showing its area and the names and addresses of all property owners adjoining or within 200 feet of the proposed camping area.
(2) 
An application fee in an amount set from time to time by the Town Council to defray the expense of administering this chapter.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
(3) 
A certificate of the Town health officer that the facilities intended to be installed on the proposed camping area and the services to be available to persons camping there will be adequate to meet water supply needs, sewerage and garbage disposal needs and that the proposed camping area will otherwise present a healthy environment for camping.
(4) 
A certificate of the Town Forest Warden that the fire prevention facilities intended to be installed on the proposed camping area are adequate, that the fire prevention measures intended to be followed at the proposed camping area are adequate and that the proposed camping area will otherwise present a safe environment for camping.
D. 
The Town Clerk shall refuse to accept any application not containing the information specified in Subsection B of this section or not accompanied by the plat, fee and certificates specified in Subsection C of this section.
E. 
Upon receipt of a proper application, the Town Clerk shall send, by regular mail, notice of such application and the date, time and place of the hearing thereon to each of the property owners adjoining or within 200 feet of the proposed location, as shown on the plat accompanying the application. Such notice shall be sent at least three weeks prior to the Town Council meeting at which such application is to be considered. The Town Clerk shall also cause the application to be advertised in a newspaper of general circulation in Kent County once a week during the two weeks prior to the Town Council meeting at which such application is to be considered.
No license shall be granted unless the following standards are met:
A. 
The proposed camping area must have an area of at least 10 acres.
B. 
No camping facilities or camp sites on the proposed camping area shall be located within 200 feet of any adjoining landowner's dwelling house.
Hearing on the issuance of a camping license shall be held at a special or regularly scheduled Town Council meeting. After the hearing the license shall be granted forthwith if the standards outlined in § 165-4 are met and the proposed location of the camping area is found to be compatible with the character and land use of the surrounding neighborhood.
Any license granted under this chapter shall be on the following terms:
A. 
The license shall not be transferable.
B. 
The license shall be revocable by the Town Council for violation of any of the provisions of this chapter or upon evidence presented by the Town health officer or Town Forest Warden that the camping area is unhealthy or unsafe or that adequate health and safety measures are not being followed.
C. 
The license shall also be revocable by the Town Council for any violation, committed on the premises, of the provisions of any other ordinance or statute or for maintaining or allowing the maintenance of a nuisance on the premises.
D. 
The licensee shall permit inspection of the camping area at reasonable times by the Town of West Greenwich police.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
All licenses issued under the authority of this chapter shall expire on December 31 of each year. Such licenses shall be renewed by payment to the Town Clerk, on or before December 31 of each year, of an annual license fee in an amount set from time to time by the Town Council.
Camping areas shall be open and operated only for an eleven-month continuous period during each calendar year. The one-month period during which operations shall cease and the camping areas shall be closed shall be specified on the annual license granted by the Town Council. Said one-month closing period shall be determined at the hearing for license application or renewal.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
Any person violating each or any of the provisions of this chapter shall be fined not more than $500. Each day's violation shall be considered as a separate offense. The Town Council may also revoke the camping area license, as specified in § 165-6.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
CAMPING AREA
Any tract or parcel of land set aside for use by persons paying a fee to camp there in tents, similar portable structures, vehicles designed for use in camping or camping trailers, so-called.
PERSON
Any natural person, firm, trust, partnership, association or corporation.