Ravalli County planning board schedules site visit for Holtson Professional Park, a six‑lot commercial subdivision

Ravalli County Planning Board members on April 16 set a site visit for April 28 at 3 p.m. to inspect the Holtson Professional Park, a proposed six‑lot commercial subdivision off U.S. Highway 93. Rob, planning department staff, told the board the applicant is proposing six commercial lots served by a shared community septic system and multiple shared wells and that the plat runs along Old Folgy Trail near Alpine Granite and Donaldson's.

The site-visit decision matters because the planning board typically inspects subdivision sites before the formal planning‑board hearing; binders containing the sanitation plan, plat drawings and staff reports will be made available in the planning office before the May 7 planning board meeting. "It's just more for you guys to go out and put eyes on the ground and look at the plat," Rob said, describing the visit as fact‑finding rather than a public hearing.

Rob described the proposed layout as six lots arranged roughly in a horseshoe with a through road and two access points, and he said the proposal anticipates a community sanitation system and shared wells ("I wanna say it's common. It's like 3 wells serving the lots," Rob said). He also told board members the applicant is a dentist seeking commercial lots. Board members confirmed April 28 at 3 p.m. for the site visit and noted the formal planning board hearing is scheduled for the first Wednesday in May (May 7), assuming a quorum.

Planning staff told members that site visits are discretionary but customary and must be noticed on the county planning calendar at least 48 hours in advance. Rob said binders and the sanitation plan will be available in the planning office for board members and that the developer’s consultant will supply materials to the office before the hearing.

Board members discussed logistics and availability for the site visit before settling on the April 28 date; a smaller preapplication packet is posted on the county website under "active staff reports and preliminary plats," Rob said, and staff will notify members when physical binders are available in the office.

No final land‑use decision was made at the meeting; the site visit and the May 7 planning board hearing are steps in the review process. The planning department emphasized that the site visit is not a substitute for the formal planning board public review.

Ending: The Holtson Professional Park application will return to the planning board at the May 7 meeting after the April 28 site inspection; staff will notify members when printed materials are available at the planning office.