Mark and Vivian McLeod are so sure they're within their property rights to build an expansive campground and "glamping project" on Potomac Creek in Staff ord County, they're willing to bet $25,000 that no one can find a "legitimate, legally binding (county) ordinance" that restricts the use to tents only.

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The couple offered the $25,000 "reward," starting at 7 p.m. Monday, May 5, and said on Tuesday they've gotten a lot of feedback.

"We have had a ton of responses already with all of them coming to the same conclusion," Mark McLeod wrote in an email. "There is no 'tents only' language in the ordinance."

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The McLeods own 75 acres off Belle Plains Road in southeastern Staff ord, across from Crow's Nest Natural Area Preserve. They would like to create Crow's Nest Outdoor Adventure, a facility with 151 campsites, cabins, luxury bathhouses, camp store, play-ground, multiple courts for sports and dog parks with self-washing stations. They'd also like a large film screen where families could watch movies under the stars.

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"We felt that it should be preserved for families in the surrounding area and beyond to come and enjoy the outdoors and be able to get out on the water and kayak, canoe, paddleboard and fish," he said.

His comments are from a May 2024 Free Lance–Star story which also included input from a "loosely formed coalition" of farmers, watermen, environmentalists and neighbors who have distributed hundreds of signs and stickers opposing the campground development.

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"That's our chunk of heaven out there," said Joni Kanazawa who raises pigs, chickens and rabbits with her husband, Dane. Their land would be surrounded by the campground.

Nearby residents wondered what kind of camping the McLeods planned to offer, and staff in the county's planning department have continued to raise the same question throughout the application review.

And, that's when the "tents only" issue popped up like a pup tent.

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A summary of the project, including the review history, is available online at https:// hello.stafford.va.us/plan?apnum=23155320. It shows that some aspects of the application have been through six reviews by county staff , and that the camping question has been asked repeatedly, but not answered by the applicant.

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"Campsites have been numbered, but still do not identify the type of campsite proposed (tent/RV/travel trailer)," states the county review in the section named Proffer Implementation Review. "As this property is zoned A-1 (agriculture), only tents are permitted until such time as a conditional use permit has been approved for travel trailers and RVs."

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The McLeods point out that campgrounds are allowed, by right, in agricultural zoning, provided the application meets more than a dozen different reviews, which it has. They also note that the county code doesn't stipulate a campground has to be tents only — and they're betting there's nothing in the code that says that.

They said their $25,000 reward will be increased every two days, by $25,000, until they go to court against the county on May 19.

"Stafford's own code … does not restrict campgrounds to tents only," the McLeods wrote in an email to the newspaper. "That's why this demand is not only wrong — it's unlawful."

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The county code defines a campground as "a plot of ground that includes, but is not limited to, a travel trailer camp, recreation camp, family campground, camping resort, camping community or any other area, place, parcel or tract of land, by whatever name called, on which two or more campsites are occupied or intended for occupancy."

Under the section called Planning Planner Review, the county states that the type of campsites must be specified to evaluate the application, per Sec. 28-249 (10). The section deals with contents of final site development plans and is part of Stafford's ordinance codes, available at https://library.municode.com/va/stafford_county.

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The code says the site plan shall contain "any other information which the agent or his designee shall deem necessary in order to fully evaluate the application."

And the information the county wants to know is what kind of campsites the McLeods plan to offer. The couple says county staff told them the site plan will not be approved unless the plan states, on each page, that the campsites are for tents only.

That's why the two parties head to court to resolve the matter.

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The McLeods started the approval process in November 2023, and county regulations say if the site plan is not approved in 18 months, the applicant has to file a new one. The campground plan expires on Friday, May 9.

The couple said they won't file a new site plan because they submitted their court case before the expiration date. A county spokesperson referred the newspaper to the Glen Allen lawyer handling the case for the county, who did not return the phone call.

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Neighbors of the proposed campground also have wondered for more than a year what type of campsites the McLeods might offer, given that their plans call for hookups for water, sewer and electricity.

"I'm not a campground expert, but I don't think you need any of that for a tent," said Mike Silver, a neighboring landowner.

Asked on Tuesday about his plans, Mark McLeod responded the same way he did last year, and to every request from the county.

"We will do everything that is allowed by the Stafford County ordinance which is clearly spelled out in plain English," he said.