Garrett Neese/Daily Mining Gazette Lars Hyrkas and Derek Bradway answer questions form the Houghton Planning Commission regarding a planned campground along Canal Road near Cole’s Creek. The commission approved the grading plan for the site.

HOUGHTON — The Houghton Planning Commission approved the grading plan for a new campground on Canal Road Tuesday in a partial site plan review

The motion was contingent upon deed restrictions, and permitting from the Environmental Protection Agency; Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy; and Houghton County’s soil erosion and sedimentation control. The Department of Natural Resources would also need to approve the site for campground use.

As a delisted Superfund site, the campground is required to have surface covering of topsoil, asphalt or pavement over any stamp sands. The elevation drops from 612 feet at Canal Road to 605 feet by the Portage Canal, said Lars Hyrkas of U.P. Engineers & Architects, who appeared with Derek Bradway, manager for Gold Metal Rentals.

“He’s going to have to bring a lot of fill into this site,” Hyrkas said. “He’s anticipating to bring it in this fall and let it settle over the winter, so when he goes to pave it, it’ll be a lot better.”

A full site plan with water and sewer connections, driveways and more will come before the Planning Commission later.

The city council property rezoned the property from B-2 to Reserve in July, allowing the campground and rental homes. A plan submitted to the city before the rezoning calls for a RV/tent campground with 46 modern full hook-up RV sites and 23 tent sites. Also planned for the site are a water’s edge pavilion, docks for watercraft and fishing, a boat launch, and a playground.

Site owner Gold Metal Rentals also plans to build 18 to 24 rental homes, and to plant about 350 trees on the site.

City Manager Eric Waara said he had consulted with an EGLE official who assured him the site plan approval could be done before permitting.

Planning Commission member Mike Needham said the project is a chance to demonstrate high-quality sedimentation control on a large project.

“We have — not only by my uneducated estimation, but my wife who does this stuff professionally — a lot of projects that don’t do it so well around here,” he said. “And you’re right on the canal, right out in front of everybody. So it’ll be nice to see a good plan, and then a contractor implementing it really well.”

“I think we just got the pressure applied,” Bradway said.