Park County planning board recommends denial of Yellowstone Reserve commercial subdivision

Park County planning board members on May 15 voted 4-1 to recommend denial of the Yellowstone Reserve major commercial subdivision, saying staff and speakers had raised unresolved questions about groundwater use, wastewater treatment and flood risk that the board could not mitigate within its authority.

The vote sends the issue to the Park County Commission, which is scheduled to consider the subdivision at its May 27 meeting. Planning director Mike Inman told the board, "I'm recommending denial of the subdivision based on findings in this proposed subdivision report," citing gaps the county could not reliably address through conditions.

Why it matters: The proposal would divide the property into 12 commercial lots served by exempt wells. The developer and its consultants said state agencies have reviewed most technical elements: WWC Engineering described infrastructure designed to meet county and DEQ standards; the applicant's water‑rights attorney said DNRC issued a predetermination for exempt wells and that the project is in an "open basin," not the closed basin at issue in prior litigation. Opponents and staff countered that the county would have no practical way to ensure lot owners stay within the 10‑acre‑feet-exemption or the applicant's 312‑gallons‑per‑day per‑lot limit, and that future floods could threaten septic systems and groundwater.

What the…