Vernon Campgrounds Sold

Starlee Speers and Betty Selin, Standard Radio News http://www.vernon.thesun.net/node/527805

Two Vernon campgrounds have sold and there could be some impact on tourism. Dutch's Campground near Kal Beach has been sold to an Alberta investor. Donna and Garry Raasch have operated the popular 92 site campground for the past 32 years. Donna Raasch isn't disclosing the selling price for the large piece of property. She says the lot north of the campground has also been purchased with plans to add RV sites. But near Okanagan Lake, a developer has made an application to change the zoning and land use for the 45-site Paraiso campground. City Planner Dale Rintoul says, while the city acknowledges there is a need for camping space, there are some alternatives. He says the Ellison Provincial Campground is underutilized. The planning advisory committee will be looking at the application Tuesday and forwarding their recommendations to council. An estimate last year suggested one-thousand camping sites were lost to development in the Okanagan. Vernon Tourism officials say they are concerned about losing any campsites and encourage people to reserve for the coming long weekend.