Schack’s Yaks, a kayak rental company, is moving forward with plans for a new Campbell County facility where it will build and store its self-service kayak kiosks and operate its live bait business.
The Campbell County Planning and Zoning Commission unanimously approved Schack’s Yaks’ site development plan for 1031 Bud Pogue Way at its Sept. 22 meeting.
Schack’s Yaks is a kayak rental company that places self-service kayak kiosks near popular waterways. The company builds the kiosks itself, which allow customers to rent kayaks through an app, and also raises and distributes live bait to stores.
The new Campbell County facility will serve as a home base for those operations rather than another kayak rental location. Schack’s Yaks plans to build and store kiosks there before delivering them to parks and other recreational areas. The property will also be used for wholesale live bait distribution. No retail operation is planned at the site.
Chris Schack, owner of Schack’s Yaks, told the commission the company has expanded its operations across Kentucky and Ohio.
“We are primarily a kayak kiosk company,” Schack said.
Schack said the company has kiosks in 17 parks across the two states, stretching from Lake Cumberland in Kentucky to Lima, Ohio. Its bait business, meanwhile, serves about 200 stores across the region, including areas around Lexington and Louisville.
In Campbell County, Schack’s Yaks has operated kayak rentals at locations including Fredericks Landing in Wilder and General James Taylor Park in Newport. The Newport location is currently closed while renovations are underway at the park.
The company is also expanding its presence in Kentucky’s state park system. Schack told the commission that the company was preparing to sign an agreement with the state park system and expects four additional park locations to become active by next season.
The Bud Pogue Way property will give the company space to assemble its kiosks indoors before temporarily storing them outside until they can be delivered.
“If they’re sitting in the parking lot,” Schack said. “They’re not making us any money, so we try to get them to the park as soon as we can.”
The roughly two-acre property is located in southern Campbell County between U.S. 27 and Old Alexandria Pike and is zoned I-1 industrial. The proposed operation is permitted under the existing zoning, meaning Schack’s Yaks did not need a zone change.
Plans call for a 30-by-60-foot building, a paved parking area, gravel driveway and gravel outdoor storage area for completed kiosks awaiting delivery. The company expects only about two employees to be working at the property at a time, according to the planning and zoning staff presentation.
The Campbell County Board of Adjustment previously approved several setback variances for the project in August, including variances that allow the building to be positioned around constraints on the property and gravel to be used for the outdoor storage area.
Before making the motion to approve the project, Campbell County Planning and Zoning Commissioner Justin Verst raised concerns about the level of detail included in the submitted site development plan.
“I would encourage our staff to be a little more critical on future site plans,” Verst said.
The relatively straightforward nature of the Schack’s Yaks project and the limitations of the property made him comfortable supporting it, Verst added.
“This is a tough piece of property,” Verst said. “There’s not a whole lot you could fit in there. I think this is a good use.”
