9.13.23 BOA Agenda Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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9 Proposed Project Project Narrative The Nest partnership consists of three families with a shared mission to create a hospitality, tourism, community and opportunity space that will serve the Orange County and surrounding community, and its visitors, with an aim toward personal growth and purpose-driven experiences. The families, consisting of Rebecca and Keith Sorensen, Hope and Gary Colen, and Shea and Greg Prospero, purchased the property in December 2019. The Nest proposes to utilize the Property to operate year-round as a Camp/Retreat Center offering 20 1-and- 2-bedroom cabins available for overnight stays, along with a main building with common spaces for guest and assembly uses. In addition to serving as an amenity to overnight guests, the main building facilities will be made available on a fee-for-use basis to the public for functions, gatherings and special events. The Nest's assembly spaces are expected to accommodate the hosting of an annual renaissance fair by an affiliated non-profit (the organization and planning of which will provide project-based training for direct support providers to individuals with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities) and the offering of its community spaces for other project-based training and educational opportunities both related and unrelated to work with direct support providers and individuals with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities. The intention is to also offer the assembly spaces for seminars, conferences, weddings, and other community gatherings. Environment and atmosphere are of foundational importance to The Nest's mission and vision for offering hospitality and opportunities for personal growth to the local and visiting community. In the McIver homestead property, the stakeholders identified and purchased a property in a rural setting with natural conditions that can be preserved and cultivated. The property is ideally suited to The Nest's plans for sharing its natural beauty with others and creating a place of comfort and belonging for groups and individuals to interact, learn and challenge themselves to grow. In keeping with the existing character of the property and surrounding property, The Nest is committed to an extremely low impact site plan where only 6.9% of the site's surface will be built-upon or otherwise impervious (rooftops and gravel drives and parking). Moreover, the property's natural conditions will be preserved and managed according to a forestry management plan. Operational Characteristics Camp (Lodging) Component The lodging component of The Nest's operations, consisting of 20 cabins, a community bathhouse and community shelter, will be overseen by a permanent resident host, who will reside in an apartment on the second floor of the community building. At full occupancy, the Nest will have the capacity to accommodate 52 overnight guests. In addition to the full-time resident host, the operation will be staffed by 3 employees, which will attend to both the lodging operation and the community building. Community Center/Retreat Component As a community space, the Nest expects to accommodate at least one special event per year in the form of a renaissance fair, to be hosted by a third-party non-profit organization which will lease the premises in order to produce the event. The annual renaissance fair will include activities such as music, theater, vendors and storytelling. In addition to the annual renaissance fair, the Nest intends to make its facilities available to host conferences, seminars, educational and vocational trainings, weddings, retreats and similar assembly and community functions. Attendant to the anticipated assembly uses, the Nest expects to facilitate recreational activities including: camping; lawn games; and other passive recreational activities. As an assembly space, the Nest contemplates utilizing the community center building and open outdoor spaces, while also making