Between pandemics and legal fights, Camp Zion Executive Director Dale Stewart has been working hard at making the best out of the situations presented to him this year. The pandemic forced him to shut down the Christian retreat center for the entire spring and only 50 percent capacity for dates in July and August. The capacity limits were partly based on its over 30-year-old dining hall. The development of a new hall has been sidetracked in recent years due to concerns by the Door County Zoning Board of Appeals about its location and a setback requirement needed to build an ADA-compliant ramp. Camp Zion has spent the last five years trying to meet the demands of the zoning board for other aspects of the project which Stewart says would help them long-term.

Stewart feels Camp Zion has a good relationship with many of its neighbors, some of which have voiced their support for the project to move forward. He also points to similar projects completed by the camp’s neighbors that were granted the variances necessary. The decision to allow the ramp and the building to be built on the planned site will now be left to a federal judge after Camp Zion filed a complaint earlier this month.

Picture from Camp Zion's website