Camps

A permit from the Environmental Health office is required for all camps to operate. This includes resident camps, primitive camps, and summer feeding sites.

Resident Camps
Resident Camps are establishments that provide food and overnight lodging for 72 consecutive hours or more per week at a permanent base of operations for groups of children or adults engaged in organized recreational or educational programs, and that have a permanent connection to a public electrical service provider. The programs are operated and staffed by the camp, and the camp is responsible for the supervision of individual campers. Resident camps that operate six months or less per calendar year get a seasonal permit that expires six months after the date of issuance. A camp that operates year-round receives an annual permit that expires one year from the date it was issued.

Camp operators and owners must submit the required application to this office before the operating season begins for a seasonal permit or before the permit expires for an annual permit. The application must be received 45 days prior to the scheduled operating season. Inspections are completed one time during a seasonal operation. Grade cards showing a numerical score are posted twice during the annual operating year.


Limited Resident Camps
A Limited Resident Camp is a camp that meets the above definition but is limited to a total of 90 campers and staff per session.


Primitive Camps
A primitive experience camp is a camp that is not served by any public electrical service and provides overnight outdoor primitive camping. These camps provide food and overnight lodging accommodations for 72 consecutive hours or more per week, and have organized recreational or educational programs.

This department issues permits to operate a primitive camp on a seasonal basis or annual basis. Seasonal permits expire six months after the issue date and annual permits expire one year after the issue date.

In order to operate a primitive camp, the owner or operator must have successfully completed a food service sanitation program within the previous three years.


Summer Feeding Sites / Summer Camps
Summer Feeding Sites and Summer Camps are daytime sites that operate during the summer season when children are out of school, and that offer meals and organized recreational or educational programs. No overnight accommodations are provided by these camps. The meals can be prepared on site, or received from a permitted food service establishment or licensed child care center. The Environmental Health Office must be contacted for an inspection prior to the operation of a summer feeding site.