Kenai limits tent camping to 2 tents per property, defines 3+ as campground

Kenai will allow up to two tents on private property indefinitely, after the City Council amended a proposed tent-camping ordinance Wednesday to remove short-term limits and focus instead on larger camping setups.

The amended ordinance defines three or more tents as a campground, which requires conditional-use approval in most zones. Two tents remain allowed as long as sanitary facilities are provided.

The change came after council members questioned whether the original proposal treated tents more harshly than recreational vehicles. The original ordinance would have limited tent camping to three consecutive days or five total days in a 30-day period, while Kenai code allows RV camping for up to 30 days.

City officials said the ordinance was prompted in part by complaints from the Beaver Loop area during the personal-use dipnet fishery, when private lots can be used for seasonal camping.

City Manager Terry Eubank said the city received complaints last year about a vacant subdivision lot with multiple tents and support facilities.

"They had brought in sanitary facilities, they brought in dumpsters, they brought in some porta potties, but they had a number of tents that were housing people that were participating in the fishery," Eubank said.

Council Member Brian Winger said the proposed time limits could also affect ordinary backyard camping.

"If a family does put a tent in their front yard for their kids to camp in off and on all summer, as my kids did, or as my son completed his camping nights to earn his Eagle Scout in the backyard, that was seven nights," Winger said.

The council passed the ordinance 5-0 as amended.