Ravalli County juggles subdivision proposals

by Nathan Boddy

The Ravalli County Planning Department staff, together with the county’s volunteer Planning Board, has been busy reviewing two contentious subdivision proposals over the last several months, and the many hours they have put in are worthy of notice.  

Public meetings for consideration of the proposed Sapphire Heights preliminary draft drew so much opposition during its two recent meetings that the county was forced to move the venue to accommodate the gathering. A proposal for an entirely different 33-lot subdivision in the north of the valley, along Eight Mile Creek Road known as Sapphire Valley Subdivision, has likewise drawn the negative attention of neighbors to the stage of public discourse.  

The Planning Board has listened to hours of public comment on both subdivision proposals, repeatedly reminding the public that they themselves serve as an advisory body to the county commissioners, who, along with state regulators, will have ultimate say. Planning board chair Penny Howe-Canton says at nearly every meeting, “We can deny, approve with conditions, or approve. But we don’t make the final decision.” Still, Howe-Canton and the other members of the Planning Board have laboriously made their way through each subdivision proposal, item by item, and absorbing the often barbed comments of a concerned public.

Sapphire Heights, which would see the subdivision of two large parcels at the far eastern end of Hamilton Heights Road, became a flashpoint of concern for area citizens over the last year.  Plans for the development drew a coordinated response from surrounding landowners who attended the meetings in large numbers and systematically attacked each of the criteria that Ravalli County uses to evaluate subdivisions. Water availability, concerns over wildlife, arsenic exposure, increased traffic and the agricultural nature of the area were repeatedly hammered upon by those opposed to the development.

Only hours before the meeting which would likely have resulted in the planning board’s recommendation to the county commissioners, the developers requested that the review be postponed until a later date so that amendments can be made as to the number and configuration of the proposed lots. This was the second time that WGM Group, together with the landowners, had requested delay of the process in order to rework portions of their submittal. Some, like area resident Kierstin Schmidt, who spoke multiple times at the planning board meetings, worry that the developer may instead pursue a minor lot subdivision, for which no planning board review would be required. Minor subdivisions, unless recommended for denial by county staff, bypass planning commission review and move directly to review by the board of county commissioners.

“We’re not happy,” wrote Kierstin Schmidt in a message about the developer’s decision to delay review.

The proposed Sapphire Valley Subdivision meetings did not draw as many in-person attendees, perhaps due to the record breaking cold snap during the first planning board review on Jan. 17.  That proposed subdivision would see the creation of 33 residential lots on a 49.2 acre parcel which abuts 8 Mile Creek Road approximately 4.5 miles east of Florence. Written comments submitted to the planning board, as well as those who did come to speak, expressed substantial opposition to the development. Many argued that the subdivision would not fit with the surrounding agricultural and low density nature of 8 Mile Creek Road. Similar to their review of Sapphire Heights, the board moved through the prepared application package item by item, making recommendations of points that could be required by the county commissioners. Not until nearly midnight on Feb. 1 did they complete their review, voting to conditionally approve the preliminary plat and send it to the county commissioners.

“Now you know what it’s like to get involved with your government,” said planning board chair Penny Howe-Canton upon the meeting’s conclusion.  

The subdivision process within Ravalli County is managed by the Ravalli County Subdivision Regulations (RCSR) and applicable state law under the Montana Subdivision and Platting Act (MSPA). These regulations require county staff to begin the review process by evaluating a subdivision proposal’s potential impact upon such things as: agriculture, water quality, wildlife, local services and health and safety. One tool conspicuously absent within the review process in Ravalli County, however, is a growth plan or zoning requirements. Without predesignated zones which would control scale and type of development, subdivision proposals in Ravalli County can only be reviewed within the context of the aforementioned criteria.

The Ravalli County Commissioners will have their hearing on the proposed subdivision at 9:30 on Feb. 22 at the Ravalli County administrative center, 215 S. 4th Street in Hamilton.

 

Editor’s Note: This story has been corrected from the original version which incorrectly stated that County Commissioner Greg Chilcott owns property adjacent to the proposed subdivision. The Star apologizes for the error.