In preparing for our Special Use Permit, Wendy and I must adhere to 7 criteria put forth by the county. I wrote 3 of my own.
The 7 criteria of the county’s are non-negotiable. I must adhere to them or else my Special Use Permit will not be allowed. In the same respect my 3 criteria are non-negotiable. If I were to compromise of any of these three, I’d no longer consider my land Monument Glamping.
1. Glamping Is “Glamorous”
Well, duh. However, I’m sometimes surprised when people think of our tents as a tent community or a homeless shelter. Hardly.
Visitors experience a luxurious stay in a canvas tent with amenities reminiscent of a high-end hotel. Fitted queen bed, fireplace, personal hot tub, and a beautiful view all help make your stay glamorous. Though we resemble a camping experience, we are far, far away from anything resembling a campsite.
In fact, when we started our pilot three years ago, we intentionally priced our tents slightly above that of your typical hotel. We did not want to attract people who were simply looking for a cheap place to stay. Our visitors are those looking for a semi-outdoor experience. We often get tourists, but more often Monument Glamping has been perfect for folks from Denver and Colorado Springs. Monument Glamping becomes their little “staycation.”
2. Glamping Is On Private Property
I suppose there are a few industrial-sized glamping operations. You can view Jellystone just up the Interstate from our home — tiny homes and RVs squeezed into the hillside like sardines. Monument Glamping doesn’t reflect this at all.
There is an inherent barrier to this happening at Monument Glamping: we live here. This is a significant component of glamping itself that differentiates it from traditional camping. Being the owners and occupiers of this private property…
- We check in each of our guests personally.
- We host fire pit gatherings and wine tastings with our homemade wine.
- We are on-call for any problems that may arise with our visitors.
- We personally clean and maintain the sites.
- We invite our guests for Sunday morning breakfast in our house.
- We are a physical presence on the property, ready to help visitors maximize their experience and police the rules.
That last one — the proximity of our ownership — has squashed many potential problems. There are never parties on our property, and quiet hours are always followed. Why? Because we’re right there on the property, up at the house, ready to make sure our “no parties” rule is followed.
3. Glamping Is Neighborly
Most of the county’s criteria cover important infrastructure concerns (water, sewage, electrical, habitat, etc.). One of the seven is non-negotiable for both our operations: the neighborhood.
We live on the quietest street in our division which consists of only six RR5 (rural-residential, at least five acres), one nearly 35 acres. We’re definitely more “rural” than “residential.” However, we border a large development of track homes being constructed on the other side of our creek. The contrast is striking: 5 acre lots bordering 5,000-square-foot lots.
I believe our glamping operation will buffer the neighborhood’s desire to remain rural and residential. Our aim is to be reflective to our neighbor’s concerns as possible. In fact, one of my neighbors expressed concern about headlights from our visitors, so we’ve moved the driveway entrance in our plan.
The county has their criteria just as we do. That’s why our Special Use Permit request will be accepted. And we’ll open as planned in June!
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