State sanitation rules, local glamping ordinances
No state issues a dedicated glamping license. Utah regulates the use in two layers. The state layer is a set of Department of Health and Human Services sanitation rules, enforced by local health departments, plus the state water and wastewater rules. R392-300, Recreation Camp Sanitation, applies to any camp or campsite designed, intended for use or otherwise used for temporary human habitation, and it excludes only primitive or back-country camping [6]. The rule was adopted effective March 26, 2018 and amended effective March 10, 2022 (Bulletin 2022-06) [4]. Under R392-300-3(4), a modern camp is one with permanent buildings for sleeping, a potable water supply under pressure and food service facilities [7], and Kane County's own campground definition refers back to the state recreation camp rule [1]. R392-301 governs RV parks; it was last changed May 31, 2022, is enforced by the local health officer, and sets no density, site size or setback, so those come from county and city zoning [8].
The local layer carries the layout numbers. Garfield County Ord. 2019-2 and Tropic Town Ord. 2020-3 define glamping units and glampgrounds [2, 3], and Kane County defines both terms in its land use code [1, 9]. Those ordinances, not a state campground rule, set the density, unit size and setbacks a Utah glamping site plan is drawn to. The general classification logic across states is on the glamping site plans page and in the guide to glamping and campground regulations by state; the statewide layers are on Utah site plans. This page carries the Utah glamping specifics.
Town procedure: Title 10, Chapter 20
For land inside a town such as Tropic, Utah's Municipal Land Use, Development, and Management Act now sits in Title 10, Chapter 20: S.B. 1008 of the 2025 First Special Session renumbered it effective November 6, 2025 [5]. Under 10-20-901, land use decisions are administrative acts even where the land use authority is the legislative body, and where a regulation does not plainly restrict an application the authority must interpret and apply it to favor the application [10].
The act fixes when a project locks in. An application vests once it is complete and all fees are paid (10-20-902(1)), and it vests as to "the information shown on the application" (10-20-902(1)(a)(i)(B)) [10]. Unit counts, types and locations therefore belong on the first complete submittal. A pending ordinance can block an application only if the town formally began proceedings before it was filed, and only for 180 days unless the ordinance is enacted (10-20-902(1)(b)) [10]. A town may not impose a requirement that is not expressed in statute, ordinance or adopted specifications (10-20-902(1)(g)), and after a building permit issues it may not add requirements unless the holder asks for them or the state building code requires them (10-20-902(7)) [10].
The act also sets the clocks and the fees. Since October 1, 2026, each municipality must publish on its website an application checklist for each land use application type (10-20-902(3)) [10]. A town must confirm completeness within 30 days of a written request or the application is considered complete (10-20-905(1)(c) to (d)); after a reasonable time the applicant may demand final action within 45 days, and if none comes, appeal to district court within 30 days (10-20-905(2)) [10]. Plan review fees may not exceed the lesser of actual cost or 65% of the town's building permit fee, and review of identical plans is capped at 30% (10-20-904(1) to (2)) [10]. Kane County's own path, set by its land use ordinance, is in the county section below.
How Utah jurisdictions define the glamping unit
| Jurisdiction | Definition or rule | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Kane County | "GLAMPING": upscale camping in a semi-permanent structure on a permanent or semi-permanent foundation, no larger than 774 sq ft (500 sq ft before Ord. 2023-12). "GLAMPING UNIT": "A canvas or membrane-covered frame structure designed to be used or occupied for commercial, transient or recreational purposes" (KCLUO 9-1-7) | [1] |
| Kane County, RU zones | Cabins up to 1,500 sq ft, counted on the same site formula as glamping units | [1] |
| Kane County, other zones | Not allowed in the residential zones R-1/2, R-1, R-2 and R-5 (KCLUO 9-6A-6); in the C-1 commercial zone, 24 glamping sites were approved as a commercial recreation and entertainment facilities CUP (Binyamini, 2022 to 2023) | [1, 11] |
| Garfield County | Glamping unit is habitable space per the IBC; no glamping unit may be used for residential purposes; fire protection approved by the building official and planning commission | [2] |
| Tropic Town | "Transient" means 5 days or fewer; no residential use; units built per the applicable building codes | [3] |
| State RV park rule | Every unit carries a data plate stating compliance with NFPA 1192 (2021) or ANSI A119.5 (2020), plus RVIA or third-party certification; a tiny house is expressly not a park model RV | [8] |
The unit schedule on a Utah plan therefore tests each unit against the local definition first: canvas or membrane frame against Kane's 774 sq ft line, cabin against the 1,500 sq ft RU-zone cap, park model against the R392-301 data plate. A tiny house cannot be scheduled as a park model RV.
State sanitation, water and wastewater numbers
| Item | Rule | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Camp service building | R392-300-7(5) | 15 to 300 ft from any living and camping space served, unless integrated into a permanent building at a modern camp | [4] |
| Camp toilets | R392-300-7, Table 1 | 1 per 40 male and 1 per 25 female occupants, split 50/50 where mixed | [4] |
| Camp sinks and showers | R392-300-7, Table 1 | 1 per 35 of each gender; drinking fountains 1 per 300 | [4] |
| Common-use water faucets at a camp | R392-300-5(2)(b) | Not more than 300 feet from any camp site without its own water connection | [12] |
| RV park service buildings | R392-301-7(4) | One toilet, one hand sink and one bath fixture per sex for every 15 dependent RV or tent sites, 15 to 500 ft from those sites | [8] |
| RV park dump station | R392-301-6(2) | At least 50 ft from any site; curbed apron at least 3 ft by 3 ft | [8] |
| On-site wastewater | R317-4 | Up to 5,000 gpd | [13] |
| Large underground wastewater system | R317-5 | Over 5,000 gpd, or recreational and commercial facilities, under the Division of Water Quality; its construction permit comes before the disposal system or the buildings it serves are built | [13, 14] |
| Public water system | Utah Code 19-4-102; R309-100-4 | 15 connections or 25 people for 60 days a year; 8 connections are deemed 25 people | [15] |
Two of these thresholds reach glamping programs directly. The large underground wastewater rule reaches "commercial establishments, recreational facilities" by definition, not only by flow [16], and Kane County has required such a system for a 24-site glamp-ground [11]. On the water side, any 30 to 60 unit resort is a public water system, a transient non-community system [15]. Both systems are designed and permitted by the engineer of record.
How Utah's numbers compare
| Item | Utah | Comparison | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shared bathhouse | One toilet, hand sink and bath fixture per sex per 15 dependent sites (R392-301); camp toilets per occupant (R392-300) | Georgia: per 10 dependent RV spaces or 10 non-permanent structures | [8, 4, 17] |
| Density | Set by county or town ordinance: 10 units per acre in Garfield County, 5 in Tropic | Wisconsin's state campground ceiling: 20 sites per acre | [2, 3, 18] |
| Unit size | Kane County: 774 sq ft glamping unit; 1,500 sq ft cabin | Camping-cabin lines in other states are covered on the glamping hub | [1] |
North Carolina, the other glamping state with a model project, runs on wastewater design flows and a lodging bath rule instead; see glamping site plans in North Carolina.
County and town paths
| Jurisdiction | Approval path | Numbers that shape the plan | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kane County | Zone change to RU-10 (Planning Commission recommends; County Commission decides), then a Planning Commission conditional use permit | $400 zone change fee and a 21-day lead; RU-10 and RU-40 site formula; setbacks of 100 ft from private boundaries and 25 ft from public land | [19, 1, 11] |
| Garfield County | Glamping ordinance, Ord. 2019-2; planning commission review of street, sanitary and unit layout | 10 units per acre; at least 2,000 sq ft of lot per unit; unit area no more than two-thirds of the lot | [2] |
| Tropic Town | Glamping ordinance, Ord. 2020-3; Planning Commission review of layout and sanitary facilities; an overall development plan 30 days before the hearing | 5 units per acre; unit area no more than two-thirds of the lot | [3] |
| Washington County | Campground standards, 10-18B-5 (Ord. 2023-1231-O, 4-18-2023), by Major CUP | 1 tent site per 2 acres (OST-20, A-20) or 1 per 5 acres (OSC-20); no campgrounds inside any overlay zone | [20] |
Kane County. The county's form states: "Zone change applications must be approved prior to submitting a Conditional Use Permit or Subdivision application," and a denied zone change can be appealed within 10 days [19]. Under KCLUO 9-4-4E, each zone change from a less dense zone to a denser zone must provide "proof of all required utilities" [11], so water and wastewater feasibility come before entitlement, not after. The Planning Commission is the land use authority for the glamping CUP, and staff reports state that it "does NOT need to be recommended to the County Commissioners" [1, 21]. Those reports apply the state conditional use standard as they cite it (Utah Code 17-27a-506): a conditional use is approved if reasonable conditions are proposed, or can be imposed, to mitigate the reasonably anticipated detrimental effects [1, 21]. The conditional use permit application carries feasibility letters from UDOT, Southwest Utah Public Health, Garkane Energy, Kane County Water Conservancy and Western Kane County Special Service District [22].
The county code and the Camp Kaia conditions fix the rest of the layout. RU-10 and RU-40 yards are 30 ft front, side and rear on minimum lots of 10 or 40 acres (KCLUO 9-5C-2), and a height over 35 ft needs a CUP (9-5C-3) [1]. Parking stalls are 9 x 18 ft (9-13-4), and parking sits on the same lot or within 500 ft (9-13-7) [1, 21]. Camp Kaia was conditioned on a 20 ft wide two-way hard-surfaced main entry road, shielded LED lighting at 3,000K or less and quiet hours from 11 p.m. [1]. Fire apparatus roads have been conditioned at 20 ft wide with 13 ft 6 in clearance [11], and the Kane County Fire Warden signs off WUI and fire access under the Utah WUI Code as modified by H.B. 48 (2025) [23]. Highway frontage brings UDOT access review under the SR-9 Access Management Plan and the Kane County US-89 Corridor Access Management Plan 2011 [24].
Water and terrain decide how much of that layout gets built. In East Zion, the East Zion Special Service District serves 69 connections with 690,000 gallons of storage and 75 acre-feet of water rights, against 3,500 potential connections, and charges impact fees of $3,000 for water and $15,000 for sewer per connection [25]. The Utah Geological Survey notes flash flooding, rockfall, landslides and expansive soils as likely near East Zion [26].
Garfield County and Tropic. Both ordinances require planning commission review of street, sanitary and unit layout [2, 3].
Washington County. Each tent site needs one designated vehicle parking space, plus one guest space for every five tent sites. Internal roads are paved two-way at least 20 ft wide for 40 to 59 sites and paved at least 28 ft wide for 60 or more, and for 20 or more tent sites the internal access roads must be looped for emergency access [20]. Fees are a $300 CUP before the commission or $150 at staff level, and $125 for site plan review [27]. The Major CUP checklist asks for a "Site Plan, drawn to scale and showing all proposed and existing buildings, fences, landscaping, parking, loading areas, garbage collection areas, lighting, signs, soils report, vicinity map, drainage plan" [28]. Rural recreation grounds in OSC-20 have moved from conditional use to planned development [29]. Scale draws the conditions there: the Above Zion proposal on Kolob Mountain was cut in December 2020 from approximately 2,000 units to 442 units on 1,148 acres, one unit every 2.6 acres, with 900 parking spaces [30], and at an October 2021 Planning Commission meeting the Zion superintendent raised concerns about traffic, water rights and wildlife disruption [31]. In the town of Virgin, AutoCamp Zion opened in May 2023 with 96 units on 16 acres, 72 of them custom Airstreams [32].
Who prepares and seals what in Utah
Kane County hears conditional use permits on an unsealed preliminary site concept plan [1, 11]. The Camp Kaia packet's site plan, sheet C200 at 1 inch to 150 ft, dated 8/14/2023, is marked "NOT FOR CONSTRUCTION" and keyed to 15 proposed items [1]. Utah Code 58-53-102(3)(a) defines the production of a site plan as landscape architecture, and 58-53-602(1) requires a landscape architect's seal on any site plan prepared in the state, with exemptions for engineers and architects under 58-53-304 [33]. The 58-53-304 exemptions also cover people licensed under the architects act and unlicensed employees supervised by a landscape architect [34]. The preliminary site plan is the concept set the county hears at the conditional use permit, and it is what the sealing professional builds on.
| Stage | Prepared by | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Conditional use permit concept plan | Preliminary site plan, unsealed | [1, 11] |
| Geologic or soils report, where required (KCLUO 9-19-1) | Licensed geologist, soils or civil engineer | [11] |
| Plats | Professional land surveyor | [11] |
| Construction drawings | Professional engineer | [11] |
| Buildings | Architect | [11] |
| Final site plan | Landscape architect, professional engineer or architect | [33] |
Garfield County requires street, sanitary and unit layout plans and states no seal requirement for them [2].
What the preliminary plan carries, and what the engineer of record adds
The preliminary site plan fixes the program: unit types and counts against the local definition and cap, unit locations and decks, the welcome and service buildings, internal roads and fire apparatus routing, parking, setbacks drawn from each boundary type, screening, phasing, and a site data table with acreage, zoning, units against the ordinance formula or cap, and parking required against provided. That is the set the county hears, the set a general contractor can price and a lender can review.
The plans are preliminary. The engineer of record adds the wastewater design and its permit (on-site under R317-4, or a large underground system under R317-5), the drinking water system and its approval, and fire flow: in the Camp Kaia staff report, a 100,000-gallon tank was required for fire flow [1]. The engineer also handles UDOT access design and construction drawings; a licensed professional prepares any geologic or soils report, and a surveyor prepares any plat. For how the studio works alongside the sealing professional, see site plan architect.
The Kane County model project
The Kane County model project works these rules through a 30 to 60 unit glamping resort on 20 to 80 acres at the east Zion gateway: the rezoning and conditional use permit in order, the acreage formula and yield, the boundary setbacks, the water and wastewater thresholds, and the split between the concept plan and the sealed set. Its sister model is in Buncombe County, North Carolina. For tent and RV programs, see campground site plans and RV park site plans; for a cabin campground in a state with a campground license, the Chaffee County, Colorado model. Hearing visuals: glamping rendering.
Further reading: glamping in U.S. RV parks, why campgrounds are scarce and RV park, glamping resort, motel or multifamily. Every model project is listed under case studies. To start a Utah glamping plan, contact the studio.
Frequently asked questions
Does Utah license glamping resorts?
No state issues a dedicated glamping license. In Utah, R392-300, Recreation Camp Sanitation, covers any camp or campsite used for temporary human habitation other than primitive or back-country camping [6]; R392-301 covers RV parks [8]; and county and town ordinances, such as Garfield County Ord. 2019-2 and Tropic Town Ord. 2020-3, define glamping units and glampgrounds [2, 3].
How large can a glamping unit be in Kane County, Utah?
774 sq ft, not including the foundation (KCLUO 9-5A-5(F)), up from 500 sq ft before Ord. 2023-12. Cabins in the RU zones can reach 1,500 sq ft [1].
Does a site plan in Utah need a seal?
When does a Utah glamping resort need a state wastewater permit?
Is a glamping resort a public water system in Utah?
Yes at 15 connections or 25 people for 60 days a year, and 8 connections are deemed 25 people (Utah Code 19-4-102; R309-100-4) [15].
How many glamping units per acre do Utah counties allow?
How is a bathhouse sized under Utah rules?
For a camp, R392-300-7 sets toilets at 1 per 40 male and 1 per 25 female occupants and sinks and showers at 1 per 35 of each gender, with the service building 15 to 300 ft from the spaces it serves [4]. Where an RV park allows dependent RVs or tents, R392-301 requires one toilet, one hand sink and one bath fixture per sex for every 15 such sites, located 15 to 500 ft from those sites [8].
Sources
- 1)September 13, 2023 Kane County Planning Commission, Land Use Authority packet (Camp Kaia CUP staff report, KCLUO excerpts, site plan), Kane County, Utah. Accessed 2026-10-10.
- 2)Garfield County, Utah Glamping Ordinance No. 2019-2 (Appendix C), Garfield County, Utah. Accessed 2026-10-09.
- 3)Glamping Ordinance #2020-3, Town of Tropic, Utah. Accessed 2026-10-10.
- 4)Utah Admin. Code R392-300-7, Required Plumbing, Modern Camps, Utah Department of Health and Human Services (via Cornell LII). Accessed 2026-10-10.
- 5)S.B. 1008 (2025 First Special Session), enrolled: Municipal Land Use, Development, and Management Act recodified as Title 10, Chapter 20, Utah State Legislature. Accessed 2026-10-10.
- 6)Utah Admin. Code R392-300-2, Applicability, Utah Department of Health and Human Services (via Cornell LII). Accessed 2026-10-10.
- 7)Utah Admin. Code R392-300-3, Definitions, Utah Department of Health and Human Services (via Cornell LII). Accessed 2026-10-10.
- 8)Utah Admin. Code R392-301, Recreational Vehicle Park Sanitation, TriCounty Health Department, Utah. Accessed 2026-10-09.
- 9)KCLUO 9-1-7, Definitions, Kane County, Utah (American Legal Publishing). Accessed 2026-10-09.
- 10)Utah Code Title 10, Chapter 20, Part 9 (effective November 6, 2025), Utah State Legislature. Accessed 2026-10-10.
- 11)March 8, 2023 Kane County Planning Commission packet (Binyamini CUP; Ord. O-2023-07), Kane County, Utah. Accessed 2026-10-09.
- 12)Utah Admin. Code R392-300-5, Water Supply, Utah Department of Health and Human Services (via Cornell LII). Accessed 2026-10-09.
- 13)Utah Admin. Code R317-5-1, Large Underground Wastewater Disposal Systems, Utah Division of Water Quality (via Cornell LII). Accessed 2026-10-09.
- 14)DAR File No. 37853 (Rule R317-5), Utah State Bulletin 2013, Utah Office of Administrative Rules. Accessed 2026-10-10.
- 15)DAR File No. 34112 (Section R309-100-4), Utah State Bulletin 2010-20, Utah Division of Drinking Water. Accessed 2026-10-09.
- 16)DAR File No. 32380 (Rule R317-1), Utah State Bulletin 2009-5, Utah Office of Administrative Rules. Accessed 2026-10-09.
- 17)Tourist Accommodations Rules and Regulations, Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 511-6-2, Georgia Department of Public Health. Accessed 2026-10-09.
- 18)Wis. Admin. Code ATCP 79.13(2)(a)1.a. and ATCP 79.11, Wisconsin Legislature. Accessed 2026-10-09.
- 19)Zone Change Application (rev. 8-4-2026), Kane County Land Use Authority. Accessed 2026-10-10.
- 20)Washington County Code 10-18B-5, Campgrounds: Specific Standards, Washington County, Utah (American Legal Publishing). Accessed 2026-10-09.
- 21)November 10, 2021 Kane County Planning Commission, Land Use Authority packet (Zion Spirit CUP), Kane County, Utah. Accessed 2026-10-10.
- 22)Procedures for a Residential Conditional Use Permit (rev. 2-2-2026), Kane County Land Use Authority. Accessed 2026-10-09.
- 23)H.B. 48 (2025), Wildland Urban Interface Modifications, enrolled, Utah State Legislature. Accessed 2026-10-10.
- 24)Land Use Authority (forms, SR-9 access management plan), Kane County, Utah. Accessed 2026-10-10.
- 25)Kane County Water Element (2026), Utah Division of Water Resources. Accessed 2026-10-10.
- 26)Silvan Estates (C-27354), Utah Geological Survey hazard comment, Utah Trust Lands Administration. Accessed 2026-10-10.
- 27)Community Development Fees, Washington County, Utah. Accessed 2026-10-09.
- 28)Major Conditional Use Check List, Washington County Community Development, Utah. Accessed 2026-10-09.
- 29)Above Zion: Proposed 1,700-acre campground project on Kolob Mountain ignites petition of public protest, Cedar City News. Accessed 2026-10-10.
- 30)Above Zion revised proposal (December 1, 2020), St George News.
- 31)Getting a grip on glamping, Corner Post. Accessed 2026-10-10.
- 32)AutoCamp Zion opening coverage (March 10, 2023), Woodall's Campground Magazine; Building Design and Construction; AutoCamp.
- 33)Utah Code Title 58, Chapter 53, Landscape Architects Licensing Act, Utah State Legislature. Accessed 2026-10-09.
- 34)Utah Code Title 58, Chapter 53, Part 3, Licensing (58-53-304 exemptions), Utah State Legislature. Accessed 2026-10-10.