Williams County Planning and Zoning Commissioners approved a variance to the county’s subdivision rules so the Arntzens could plat only the portion of a T‑shaped parcel they are buying rather than the entire parcel ID area.
Michelle, a planning staff member, explained that county subdivision rules define a parcel as contiguous land under a single parcel ID, which would normally require the applicants to include the entire T‑shaped parcel in the plat. Desiree and Sam Arntzen asked for a variance to exclude the tillable field portion of the parent parcel, arguing their purchase covers only the farmstead and adjacent non‑tillable ground. Desiree told the commission she and Sam “want to purchase the rest of the farmstead and make improvements” and asked to avoid extra survey and title costs.
Ed Rentmaki, representing Interstate Engineering, observed the county’s parcel definition is tied to parcel IDs used for taxation and said legal deed descriptions, not assessor parcel IDs, better define boundary intent. Rentmaki urged the county to consider revising the regulation language in the future.
The commission voted to approve the variance following staff comments. Commissioners recorded affirmative votes from Eric, Brett, Barry, James, Mark, Cheryl and Dan.
Discussion vs. decision: The hearing included applicant testimony and an engineering representative’s legal observation; the formal decision approved the variance so the Arntzens may proceed with the smaller plat.
Why it matters: The variance reduced the cost and complexity for the owners to acquire and improve the farmstead; the decision highlights a practical conflict between assessor parcel‑ID mapping and deed‑based legal descriptions.
Next steps: Administrative plat review and recordation will follow. The commission did not set a county‑level rule change in this meeting; Rentmaki recommended regulatory language review going forward.