Staff recommends to the Planning Board that they forward a recommendation of conditional approval to the Board of County Commissioners for the preliminary plat of Lone Eagle North Subdivision, denial of the variance requests, and adoption of the Findings of Fact as presented in the staff report.

On November 3, 2025, WWC Engineering, applied for preliminary major plat approval of Lone Eagle North Subdivision. The subdivision will create 37 lots for residential development. The subject property is generally located south of Alkali Creek Road and east of Highway 3. This parcel of land is currently zoned Agriculture. The applicant has a request submitted for a zone change to Rural Residential 3 zoning. Some of the land has been used for farming. Other areas are native grassland and scrub. There are trees around the Alkali Creek stream.

VARIANCES REQUESTED
The applicant has requested two variances from the Yellowstone County Subdivision Regulations. One variance from Section 4.6.A.7. Streets and Roads, Road Network Performance Standards associated with a dead end road exceeding 1,000 feet in length. The other from Section 4.6.A.3 associated with providing connection to existing roads. 

"Section 4.6.A.7. Dead end roads shall not be more than 1000 feet in length."

"Section 4.6.A.3. There shall be right-of-way and road connections made when existing roads or platted roads outside the subdivision connect to the subject parcel."
 
Staff is recommending denial of the variance requests. County Public Works stated in reviewing the variance requests that, “Public Works has reviewed the variances, and we will not support them." Further explanation and staff analysis can be found in the attachments, "Variance A Staff Input" and "Variance B Staff Input." 

PROPOSED CONDITIONS OF APPROVAL
Pursuant to Section 76-3-608(4), MCA, the following conditions are recommended to reasonably minimize potential adverse impacts identified within the Findings of Fact.

1. To protect public health and safety, prior to final plat approval, the applicant will receive approval from the MDEQ for the proposed water systems, septic systems and the proposed stormwater management.
2. To provide a maintenance mechanism for the new public roads within the subdivision and to protect public health and safety, prior to final plat approval, the applicant will petition to create an RSID for the future maintenance of the public roads.
3. To protect public health and safety and to follow the requirements of Yellowstone County Subdivision Regulations, prior to final plat, should both variances requested by the applicant be denied, the applicant shall ensure all dead end roads within the subdivision do not exceed a maximum of 1000 feet and provide for an approved road turnaround and the applicant shall provide connection to the existing Lone Eagle Rd.
4. To protect public health and safety with proper fire suppression, prior to final plat approval, the applicant will submit construction drawings of the dry hydrant system to Fuego Volunteer Fire Department for review and approval. Once installed, the applicant will request Fuego Volunteer Fire Department test the system to ensure it works correctly and get a sign off from Fuego Volunteer Fire Department. The applicant will also create an RSID for the dry hydrant system.
5. To minimize the effects on local service, prior to final plat approval, the applicant will coordinate with the USPS for locating and providing the correct amount of space for safely delivering the mail to the residents.
6. To complete the requirements of a Phased Subdivision, prior to final plat, the applicant will provide the correct paperwork to be recorded with the final plat, restrictions on conveyances. 
7. To minimize effects on the natural environment, prior to final plat approval a weed management plan and property inspection shall be completed by the County Weed Department.
8. Minor changes may be made in the SIA and final documents, as requested by the Planning, Legal or Public Works Departments to clarify the documents and bring them into the standard acceptable format.
9. The final plat shall comply with all requirements of the Yellowstone County Subdivision Regulations, rules, policies, and resolutions of Yellowstone County, and the laws and Administrative Rules of the State of Montana.

PROCEDURAL HISTORY

• Pre-application meeting September 4, 2025
• Preliminary plat application submitted to Planning Division on November 3, 2025
• Departmental Review Meeting November 13, 2025
• Re-submittal of proposed plat November 20, 2025
• Planning Board plat review meeting December 9, 2025
• Planning Board public hearing meeting December 23, 2025
• Preliminary plat to Board of County Commissioners, January 20, 2026
• 60 working-day preliminary plat review period ends February 4, 2026

PLAT INFORMATION

General location:                                South of Alkali Creek Road and east of Highway 3

Legal Description:                              SECTION 9, TOWNSHIP 1 NORTH, RANGE 25 EAST, COS 3420

Owner/Subdivider:                             Yellowstone Farm LLC

Engineer and Surveyor:                      WWC Engineering

Existing Zoning:                                 Agriculture requesting RR3

Existing land use:                                Some Active Farmland

Proposed land use:                              Residential

Gross and Net area:                             327.28 acres

Proposed number of lots:                    37

Lot size:                                               Max:    9.97 acres
                                                            Min.:    5.61 acres

Parkland requirements:                       Parkland dedication is not required as all lots are over 5 acres in size.

TRAFFIC IMPACT STUDY - INTERSECTION COST PARTICIPATION:
The Lone Eagle North Subdivision has been studied in accordance with Yellowstone County Traffic Impact Study (TIS) guidelines and the latest traffic engineering industry standards and references for traffic impact analysis. Because no traffic impacts are indicated with respect to the County’s Level of Service (LOS) C standard for peak hour intersection operations, no mitigations for traffic operations are recommended as a result of this project. No auxiliary turn lanes would be warranted with or without this project based on design hour volume, per MDT guidelines and procedures. All study intersections would have critical traffic shares well below the 2% threshold for cost participation, so no such contribution is required.

Intersection                                           AM       PM       Higher Peak, if 2% or Greater
1. MT 3 at Alkali Creek Road                0.7%   0.6%             n/a
2. MT 3 at Lone Eagle Drive                 0.7%   0.8%             n/a
3. Skyway Drive at Alkali Creek Road  0.7%   0.9%              n/a
                                                Total Participation %:            0%

None of the intersections studied would experience a high enough critical-movement volume increase due to the project to require participation in the cost of future improvements.

PARKLAND:
There is no parkland requirement for this subdivision as all the lots in the proposed subdivision are over 5 acres in size.

There are no stakeholder responses at this time. Stakeholder input will be received at a public hearing scheduled for this subdivision on December 23, 2025.

In accordance with state law, the Board of County Commissioners has 60 working days to act upon this major preliminary plat. The 60 working day review period for the proposed plat ends on February 4, 2026. State and County subdivision regulations also require that preliminary plats be reviewed using specific criteria, as stated within this report. The County may not unreasonably restrict an owner's ability to develop land if the subdivider provides evidence that any identified adverse effects can be mitigated. Within the 60 working day review period, the Board of County Commissioners is required to:
1. Approve;
2. Conditionally Approve; or
3. Deny the Preliminary Plat

This plat will have no fiscal impact on the City/County Planning Division.

The purpose of the County’s subdivision review process is to identify potential negative effects of property being subdivided. When negative effects are identified, it is the subdivider’s responsibility to mitigate those effects.  Various County departments, private service/utility providers and the affected school district(s), have reviewed this application and provided input on effects and mitigation.  The Findings of Fact, which are presented as an attachment, discuss potential negative impacts of the subdivision and conditions of approval are recommended as measures to further mitigate any impacts. In this case, there were found to be some impacts from this proposed subdivision.