Commission approves Counts Hay & Cattle one-lot minor subdivision with variances, requires clarified driveway variance

The Broadwater County Commission approved the preliminary plat for the Counts Hay & Cattle Minor Subdivision and granted three related variances at its May 7 meeting.

Community development director Nicole Brown summarized the application from Tessa Counts and family as a one-lot minor subdivision with two access roads (Big Country Drive and Radcliffe Trail) in Section 9, Township 7 North, Range 3 East. Brown said the subdivision's governing-body decision deadline had been paused at the developer's request and that the current deadline for action is May 14, 2025.

Brown explained three variance requests were before the commission. The first variance (allowing the lot to be bisected by a public road/alley) had previously been granted. The second variance asked to permit shared-driveway access; originally configured to use Radcliffe Trail, the applicant amended the request during the meeting to specify two shared driveways off 6 Big Country Drive for the household's use only. Brown recommended documenting that amended variance in the record and minutes; the applicant, Tessa Counts, handwritten and signed the amendment at the meeting and the commission accepted that amendment for the record.

The third variance sought relief from the subdivision's fire-protection requirements (water-supply mitigation). Commissioners considered that request after discussing the county's amendment to Section 5(q) earlier in the meeting. Brown reminded the commission the Counts subdivision must comply with the September 2024 subdivision regulations as they existed at the moment the application was before the board, but commissioners nonetheless granted the fire-protection variance for this one-lot minor subdivision.

After resolving the variances and receiving no public comment, the commission voted to approve the Counts Hay & Cattle minor subdivision preliminary plat with conditions. Brown told the commission the landowner should submit a revised variance request for the road/driveway variance if they choose to amend it formally; the board also accepted the applicant's handwritten amendment specifying the shared driveway off Big Country Drive and directed staff to include the amendment text in the minutes to create a clear record.

Brown noted that Radcliffe Trail is a public road that acts as a driveway beyond the Savon Estates subdivision and that Big Country Drive is not a county road. Commissioners said the amended, more specific variance language will reduce future confusion about what was authorized for this parcel.