The summertime scene in Danbury is a bustling one. The parking lots at Moratock Park overflow and cars spill over to line both sides of Sheppard Mill Road. General stores around town do a brisk business as would-be tubers line up and their vehicles jam the parking spaces there as well.

The draw of the Dan River brings tourists in abundance to spend the day, but as nighttime draws nigh, their options are limited. They either return to their homes, find a campsite at Hanging Rock before that park fills up, grab a spot at Sunset Park or drive out of county where hotels abound.

Some had been camping on a parcel of property adjoining Moratock Park, but now that unofficial campground is closed. A banner on Highways 89 and 8, at the entrance of the defunct campground, proclaims in glaring letters: “Campers go home. The Town of Danbury doesn’t want you.”

The sign belongs to local businessman Mike Fulp who owns a frame and body shop just outside of Danbury on the Walnut Cove side, well as the neighboring Marathon gas station. Until recently, he also ran the campground in question.

That campground came under fire when the Town of Danbury went to the magistrate to seek action against the alleged illegal operation. At that point, the Stokes County Sheriff’s Department stepped in to assist with the investigation and served a criminal summons against Fulp. That case went to court but was dismissed last week.

Fulp tells how he originally leased, and then purchased, the 12 acres that housed his campground. He alleges that the property had once been zoned for a campground, but that the statute of limitations had run out.

Danbury Town Administrator Byron Ellis says that a previous owner made application for a campground permit but decided not to pursue that option after realizing that the town’s campground ordinance was very specific and restrictive. Danbury Town Attorney Mike Bruce also recalls a previous owner applying for a permit and adds that a permit was issued for part of the property which was zoned B1 for business.

According to Bruce, that owner then sold the property. Later, another owner applied for a whole property permit to run a campground, which could not be granted because a portion of the acreage was zoned R3 for residential land outside of the town limits.

Bruce states that a moratorium on campgrounds in Danbury was declared at that time, until the town council could study what the attorney called “a very restrictive policy.” The present town council members have been working on amending the ordinance for several months and approved the final draft on May 19, 2010.

Fulp’s problem goes beyond the specifics of the newly amended ordinance, according to Ellis, who states that Fulp never even applied for a permit to have a campground in the town. Ellis remembers Fulp coming to a Danbury Town Council meeting in July 2009 and asking then-mayor Jane Priddy Charleville and Ellis if he could open a campground.

Although Ellis says that Fulp was told no due to no application for permit or compliance with ordinances, evidence shows that Fulp opened the campground by August 2009. The Town of Danbury sent him a letter, ordering him to shut down the non-permitted operation. Ellis recalls that campers still occupied the property until about October 2009 then were back by approximately Easter 2010, despite other letters from the town to Fulp.

Bruce declares that Ellis even gave Fulp a copy of the campground ordinance so that he could see what is required to have a campground in Danbury.

According to Fulp, it all began when people started to ask him if they could set up camp on his large property at the river. Some of them wanted to spend time tubing on the Dan but lived far away. So, sure enough, about a year ago, Fulp began allowing camping there. He says he didn’t even charge at first but that others finally convinced him to accept a minimal compensation.

Then, Fulp recalls, some campers asked for a picnic table. Over the course of time, he had 12 built at more than $100 per table and placed them in the makeshift campground. One port-a-jon at the end of last summer expanded to three in spring 2010.

Fulp calculates that by the time he kept the large space mowed, emptied the trash and managed the campground, he didn’t really earn any money on the venture.

Nonetheless, the Danbury Town Council voted in open session at their July meeting to initiate a lawsuit seeking a legal injunction to stop the illegal campground and to collect the fines that have been accumulating.

Fulp now claims that the campground is no longer in operation due to the order to shut it down. Ellis reports that it actually just closed a few weeks ago, despite the repeated communications from the town to cease and desist.

Fulp is puzzled over having to go to court about this matter. “Would you spend more to hurt somebody then to help somebody?” he asks. “I don’t feel like I’ve hurt anybody. I’ve made people happy.

Fulp thinks the recent projects the town has done, such as improving the sidewalks downtown, are “pretty,” but he thinks more could be done to help the town, such as working it out to have a campground in operation.

At this time, Fulp claims to have no plans for the riverfront acreage.

The sign on the property, however, could cause him even more trouble. According to Ellis, signs such as this are not allowed in a R3 zone. The penalty is $50 per day for violations.

Should Fulp or anyone else wish to open a campground in Danbury’s jurisdiction, Ellis lays out the steps that need to be taken. First, a permit application must be submitted and approved. Next, a site plan must be submitted and approved. Finally, the campground must meet the developmental and operational requirements as described in the town’s campground ordinance.

All of these requirements are listed in detail in Article XIII, section 13-3 of the Danbury Zoning Ordinance.