On June 1, 2015, the owners’ agent Tom Llewellyn on behalf of the Holly Huennekens Trust, applied for preliminary subsequent minor plat approval for Holly’s Subdivision, Amended Lot 1, Block 1.  The proposed plat creates 4 lots from a 25.25-acre parcel of land. The subject property is generally located at 7625 Neibauer Road.  The property is outside of zoning and there is a mixture of farming and residential uses in the immediate vicinity.  The Yellowstone County Board of Planning will review the plat at this meeting and conduct a public hearing on Tuesday, July 28, 2015. The Board of County Commissioners is scheduled to act on the proposal on August 11, 2015.
 

Staff recommends the Planning Board recommend that the Yellowstone County Board of County Commissioners conditionally approve the preliminary plat of Holly’s Subdivision, Amended Lot 1, Block 1, approve the variance requested, and adopt the Findings of Fact  as presented in the staff report.

Planning staff recommends the following conditions of approval:

1. To minimize the effects on surrounding property owners, the applicant will add language in the SIA under Conditions That Run With The Land to inform future property owners, should they use water from the Big Ditch to irrigate their property, that they will control irrigation water from flooding onto adjacent property.
2. To ensure proper transfer or retention of water shares currently on Lot 1, in the SIA under an Irrigation Facilities heading, the applicant will clarify what water shares exist with Lot 1 and what will be done with them as per Section 4.13 of the Yellowstone County Subdivision Regulations (YCSR).
3. To ensure the Big Ditch company has proper access to perform maintenance on the Big Ditch, prior to final plat approval the applicant will contact the Big Ditch Company to determine what size the easement needs to be for maintenance purposes, and provide documentation with signatures from the Big Ditch representative on the easement width. The proper easement, as per the Big Ditch Company, will be depicted on the Final Plat.
4. To minimize the effects on the natural environment and provide safe services to lot owners, prior to final plat approval the subdivider will receive approval from MDEQ for the use of septic systems, and wells or cisterns.
5. To minimize the effects on the existing ditches on the site, any construction of culverts for ditch crossings or trenches for the installation of utilities will require approval from the ditch company affected prior to construction or trenching.
6. To clarify the SIA and what is being built for access to the proposed lots, the applicant will revise the Transportation section of the SIA to clarify what lots have a paved private road on them, which lots have a dirt drive way as access, and how Lot 1C is required to have a separate access across the existing ditch while Lots 1A and 1B are using the dirt drive way. All accesses, roads and driveways must meet County Standards as specified in the YCSR and by the Yellowstone County Public Works Department.
7. To ensure proper fire suppression system installation, prior to final plat approval the applicant must provide written verification from the Laurel Fire Department that the systems has been tested and the Fire Department has accept the 10,000 gallon dry hydrant system.
8. To ensure the future maintenance of the dry hydrant system, an RSID will need to be created for maintenance of the 10,000 gallon dry hydrant system.
9. To meet YCSR and ensure proper storm water management practices, prior to final plat approval the applicant will submit proposed storm water management information to the MDEQ for review and approval.
10. To minimize the effects on the natural environment, prior to final plat approval a weed management plan and property inspection shall be approved by the County Weed Department.
11. Minor changes may be made in the SIA and final documents, as requested by the Planning and/or Public Works Departments to clarify the documents and bring them into the standard acceptable format.
12. The final plat shall comply with all requirements of the County Subdivision Regulations, rules, regulations, policies, and resolutions of the Yellowstone County, and the laws and Administrative Rules of the State of Montana.

The applicant has requested a variance from Section 4.4 D of the Yellowstone County Subdivision Regulations, which states “No Single lot may be divided by a public road, alley, or access easement”.  Staff is recommending approval of this variance request. Further explanation and analysis may be found in Attachment A.
 

• A pre-application meeting was held on April 16, 2015, to discuss the proposal.
• The preliminary plat application was submitted to the Planning Division on June 1, 2015.
• A departmental review meeting was conducted on June 18, 2015.
• The preliminary plat was resubmitted with revisions based on department reviews on June 25, 2015.
• The Planning Board will review the plat on July 14, 2015.
• The Planning Board will conduct a public hearing on July 28, 2015, and forward a recommendation to the Board of County Commissioners.
• The Board of County Commission is scheduled to consider the preliminary plat on August 11, 2015.
• The 60 working-day preliminary plat review period ends August 24, 2015.

General location:                                             7625 Neibauer Road
 
Legal Description:                                           Holly’s Subdivision, Amended Lot 1, Block 1
 
Subdivider/Owner:                                         Holly Huennekens Trust
 
Engineer and Surveyor:                                  Red Lodge Surveying, Inc
 
Existing Zoning:                                             Outside Zoning
 
Existing land use:                                            Agriculture
 
Proposed land use:                                          Residential
 
Gross/Net area:                                               25.25 acres
 
Proposed number of lots:                                4
 
Lot size:                                                          Max:    7.0 acres   Min.:   4.25 acre
                                                                         
Parkland requirements:                                   No parkland dedication is required for this subsequent minor subdivision