Staff recommends that the Yellowstone County Planning Board recommend to the Board of County Commissioners to conditionally approve the preliminary plat of West Meadows Subdivision, 2nd Filing and adopt the Findings of Fact as presented in the staff report.

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 for future road maintenance, prior to final plat approval, the applicant will expand existing RSID’s 773 and 796 for the new public roads within the subdivision and providing access to the subdivision.
3. To protect public health and safety and to provide fire suppression facilities, prior to final plat approval, the applicant will provide a letter from the Laurel Volunteer Fire Department stating they approve of the use of a pond for fire suppression purposes.
4. To protect public health and safety, prior to final plat approval, the applicant will create the maintenance district for the water pond being used for fire suppression, and to maintain the piping system used to pump water from the pond. The applicant will provide documents that outline the requirement of the maintenance district the water pond for fire suppression needs as outlined in the SIA. The applicant will provide documents that show the county is supportive of such a maintenance district.
5. To protect public health and safety with proper fire suppression, prior to final plat approval, the applicant will coordinate required fire pond installation and location with the Laurel Fire Department. The access to the pond will be a public easement built to accommodate fire trucks in all weather conditions. Lockwood Fire Department will review and approve all fire hydrant locations within the subdivision.
6. To protect public safety and to ensure future maintenance of the parkland, prior to final plat approval, the applicant will expand the existing RSID for parkland maintenance for this subdivision.
7. 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.
8. 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. 
9. 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.
10. The final plat shall comply with all requirements of the County Subdivision Regulations, rules, regulations, policies, and resolutions of the Yellowstone County, including laws regarding moving houses onto or off the property, and the laws and Administrative Rules of the State of Montana.  

 

On January 4, 2021, the Planning Division received an application for major plat approval for the proposed West Meadows Subdivision, 2nd Filing.  The subject property is generally located on the east side of Whistlers Way and south of what will be Central Avenue. This subdivision would create 42 lots from a 50-acre parcel of land.  The applicant is proposing to develop a residential subdivision, the land is outside of zoning. The land is currently dryland grass and shrub land.

VARIANCES REQUESTED
No variances are requested for this subdivision.

PROCEDURAL HISTORY

• Pre-application meeting July 30, 2020
• Completeness review submitted December 14, 2020
• Preliminary plat application submitted to Planning Division January 4, 2021
• Departmental review meeting January 14, 2021
• Preliminary plat resubmitted January 21, 2021
• Planning Board plat review February 9, 2021
• Planning Board public hearing February 23, 2021
• Preliminary plat to Yellowstone County Board of County Commissioners March 16, 2021
• 60 working-day preliminary plat review period ends March 31, 2021

PLAT INFORMATION
 
General location:                                            East side of Whistlers Way and south of what will be Central Avenue
Legal Description:                                          Lot 1A of west Meadows Subdivision Amended Plat
Owner/Subdivider:                                         Wineridge Inc.
Engineer/Surveyor:                                        WWC Engineering
Existing Zoning:                                             Outside of zoning
Existing land use:                                           Dryland Grass
Proposed land use:                                          Residential
Gross area:                                                    50 acres 
Proposed number of lots:                               42
            Max. lot size:                                      2.00 acres
            Min. lot size:                                       0.65 acres
Parkland requirements:                                  There is an existing park within the proposed subdivision. No additional parkland is required.

The Planning Board will not conduct a public hearing at this meeting, but public comment will be taken. The formal public hearing is scheduled for the Planning Board's upcoming meeting. After considering all public hearing testimony the Planning Board will forward a recommendation to the Board of County Commissioners.

One of the purposes 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.

In accordance with state law, the Board of County Commissioners has 60 working days to act upon this major preliminary plan. The 60 working day review period for the proposed subdivision ends on March 31, 2021. 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 subdivision will have no fiscal effect on the Planning Division.