Staff is recommending the Planning Board forward a recommendation to the Board of County Commissioners to conditionally approve the plat of Maplewood Subdivision, adopt the Findings of Fact as presented in the staff report, and approve the variance request.

On May 1, 2025, In Sight Engineering, for Regal Land Development, applied for preliminary major plat approval of Maplewood Subdivision. The subdivision will create 78 lots for residential development. The subject property is generally located south of O’Donnell Lane and east of South 72nd Street West. This parcel of land is outside county zoning. The land has been used for farming.

VARIANCES REQUESTED
The applicant has requested a variance from Section 4.6.B.1, of the Yellowstone County Subdivision Regulations, which outlines connection to undeveloped / underdeveloped land surrounding proposed subdivisions. The maximum distance between those connections is 600 feet.

Staff is recommending approval of the variance request.

Further explanation and analysis can be found in Attachment A.

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 storm water management.
2. To protect public health and safety and provide maintenance for a shared water system, the applicant shall submit to be recorded with the final plat a maintenance agreement and easement for the shared water system.  
3. 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 roads.
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 Billings Fire Department for review and approval. Once installed, the applicant will request Billings Fire Department test the system to ensure it works correctly and get a sign off from Billings Fire Department. The applicant will also create an RSID for the dry hydrant system.
5. To protect public health and safety with access to the parkland over an irrigation ditch from The Big Ditch, prior to final plat approval, the applicant will provide two pedestrian accesses over the ditch to the park. Each one will be a minimum of 10 feet wide.
6. 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 lot owners.
7. A Restrictions on Conveyances associated with the phases in the subdivision shall be filed with the final plat. The subdivision improvement agreement (SIA) shall be updated to reflect the date associated with the opening of each phase of the subdivision. 
8. To minimize the effects on the natural environment, a copy of the approved weed management plan shall be submitted with the final plat. 
9. 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.
10. 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 January 23, 2025
• Preliminary plat application submitted to Planning Division on May 1, 2025
• Departmental Review Meeting May 15, 2025
• Re-submittal of proposed plat May 22, 2025
• Planning Board plat review meeting June 10, 2025
• Planning Board public hearing meeting June 24, 2025
• Preliminary plat to Board of County Commissioners, July 22, 2025
• 60 working-day preliminary plat review period ends July 28, 2025

PLAT INFORMATION

General location:                                South of O’Donnell Lane and east of South 72nd Street West

Legal Description:                              SW ¼, SECTION 18, TOWNSHIP 1 SOUTH, RANGE 25 EAST

Owner/Subdivider:                             Regal Land Development Inc.


Engineer and Surveyor:                      In Site Engineering

Existing Zoning:                                 No zoning

Existing land use:                                Agricultural

Proposed land use:                              Residential

Gross and Net area:                             128.7 acres / 49.956 acres

Proposed number of lots:                    78

Lot size:                                               Max:    61.793 acres
                                                            Min:     0.45 acres

Parkland requirements:                       Parkland dedication required is 3.988 acres. The applicant is proposing to provide 3.193 acres with a cash-in-lieu contribution for the remaining amount.

TRAFFIC IMPACT STUDY OVERVIEW
INTERSECTION COST PARTICIPATION
The net new trips identified in this report are subject to examination under Yellowstone County’s cost participation program to the extent that they would travel through studied intersections. Cost participation has been estimated for the three public-street intersections in this study under the assumptions that (a) the peak with the highest percentage of trips added to the intersection’s critical volume governs contribution and (b) site traffic must result in an increase of 2% in total critical-movement volume, after project trips are considered, to be subject to cost participation. Once it is demonstrated that an intersection is eligible, the applicant pays the entire percentage, not just the marginal part above 2%, unless another arrangement is made with the County. Exhibit 15 shows the intersection cost participation summary for project trips.

Exhibit 15. Intersection Cost Participation
Intersection                                         AM      PM        Value in Higher Peak, if 2% or Greater
1. 72nd at King                                   0.5%    1.3%                            -%
2. 72nd at O’Donnell                          1.3%    1.6%                            -%
2. 72nd at Hesper                                1.3%    1.5%                            -%
4. 68th at Hesper                                 1.1%    1.3%                            -%
5. 64th at Hesper                                 0.8%    1.1%                            -%
                                                              Total Participation %:             0%
                                                                       x $500,000                  $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.

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
The Maplewood Estates Subdivision project has been studied in accordance with Yellowstone County 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 LOS C standard for peak hour intersection operations, no mitigations for traffic operations are recommended as a result of this project. All intersections with two-way stop control were examined with respect to MDT warrants for auxiliary turn lanes, and no turn lanes were found to be warranted with or without this project in the study timeframe. Under the background traffic growth assumptions used here, a southbound left turn lane on 72nd at Hesper Road has been shown to be warranted a few years after this subdivision opens, and is therefore recommended for the County’s independent consideration. No intersection cost participation is indicated by the traffic analysis documented in this report.

PARKLAND OVERVIEW:
The parkland requirement for this subdivision is 3.988 Acres. The parkland requirement is met by a dedication of 3.193 acres of public parkland with the remainder to be met by cash-in-lieu of parkland. A Park Maintenance District will be established with the final plat. County Parks have stated they are satisfied with the parkland as proposed and in the location it is shown.

The Planning Division has received no public comment as of the writing of this report. Stakeholder input will be received at a public hearing scheduled for this subdivision on June 24, 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 July 28, 2025. 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 are required to:
1. Approve;
2. Conditionally Approve; or
3. Deny the Preliminary Plat

This plat will have no fiscal impacts on the Planning Division.

One of the purposes of the County's subdivision review process is to identify potential negative effects of property being subdivided. Negative effects that are identified become the subdivider’s responsibility to mitigate.  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 minimal impacts from this proposed subdivision.