On February 1, 2016, Tom Kelly of North Star Land Services for property owner Lee Myers applied for preliminary major plat approval for Cowboy Country Acres Subdivision, 2^nd Filing, Amended Lot 15A.  The proposed plat creates 16 lots from a 28-acre parcel of land. The subject property is generally located near the southeast intersection of Neibauer Rd. and South 72^nd St. West.  The property is outside the zoning jurisdiction and commercial and light industrial uses are proposed.  The Yellowstone County Board of Planning will review the plat at this meeting and conduct a public hearing on Tuesday, March 22, 2016. The Board of County Commissioners will act on the proposal on April 19, 2016.
 

Staff recommends that the Planning Board recommend that the Yellowstone County Board of County Commissioners conditionally approve the preliminary plat of Cowboy Country Acres Subdivision, 2nd Filing, Amended Lot 15A, and adopt the Findings of Fact as presented in the staff report. Staff is not recommending approval of the two variance requests as outlined in the Variances section of this memo and in Attachment A.

PROPOSED CONDITIONS OF APPROVAL
Planning staff recommends the following conditions of approval:

1. To ensure protection of public health and safety, prior to final plat approval the applicant will obtain MDEQ approval for the proposed water and sewer systems in the subdivision.
2. To ensure future maintenance of the public roads in the subdivision, prior to final plat approval the applicant will create an RSID-M to maintain the road system in the subdivision.
3. To ensure future maintenance of the existing dry hydrant facilities in Cowboy Country Subdivision, prior to final plat approval the applicant will expand the existing RSID-M for the dry hydrant facilities to include the new lots in the 2nd Filing.
4. To ensure protect public health and safety, prior to final plat approval, the applicant will obtain MDEQ approval for the storm drainage system in the subdivision.
5. To reduce the impact on local services, prior to final plat approval the applicant will show utility easement on the face of the final plat.
6. 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.
7. 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 two variances from the County Subdivision Regulations:

The applicant has requested a variance from Section 4.6 (C) (B) (13) of the Yellowstone County Subdivision Regulations, which outlines the requirement for a dedicated right-of-way be paved when it abuts a paved road. 
 
The applicant has requested a second variance from Section 4.6 (A) (3) of the Yellowstone County Subdivision Regulations, which outlines the requirement that there shall be right-of-way and road connections made when existing roads or platted roads outside of the subdivision connect to the subject parcel.
 
Staff is recommending denial of the variance requests. Further explanation and analysis, and to read the applicant's variance requests, please see Attachment A.
 

• A pre-application meeting was held on April 25, 2015, to discuss the proposal.
• While the applicant did submit the subdivision application for Completeness and Sufficiency Review within the required 6 month time frame from when the pre-application meeting was held, it took a significant amount of time for the application to be deemed complete and sufficient after multiple revisions and resubmittals by the applicant.
• The preliminary plat application was submitted to the Planning Division on February 1, 2016.
• A departmental review meeting was conducted on February 18, 2016.
• The preliminary plat was resubmitted with revisions based on department reviews on February 25, 2016.
• The Planning Board will review the plat on March 8, 2016.
• The Planning Board will conduct a public hearing on March 22, 2016, and forward a recommendation to the Board of County Commissioners.
• The Board of County Commission will consider the preliminary plat on April 19, 2016.
• The 60 working-day preliminary plat review period ends April 26, 2016.

General location:                                            Generally located near the south east intersection of Neibauer Rd.
                                                                        and 72^nd St. West
 
Legal Description:                                          Lot 15A, Block 1, Cowboy Country Subdivision 
 
Subdivider/Owner:                                         Lee Myers
 
Engineer and Surveyor:                                 North Star Land Services
 
Existing Zoning:                                             outside zoning
 
Existing land use:                                           Vacant land
 
Proposed land use:                                        Commercial /Industrial
 
Gross/Net area:                                               28 acres
 
Proposed number of lots:                                16
 
Lot size:                                                          Max:    2.144 acres   Min.:   1.478 acre
                                                                         
Parkland requirements:                                   No parkland dedication is required for this commercial subdivision