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Board requires Hale Place dedication, approves section-line variance for Henderson Ranch Estates
Summary
The Meade County Planning Board voted to require dedication of the full 66-foot Hale Place right of way on the Henderson Ranch Estates preliminary plat and to approve, for that plat only, a variance not to dedicate a north-south section-line right of way adjacent to a gravel operation.
The Planning Board on Monday voted to require dedication of Hale Place (a 66-foot right of way based on centerline) as a condition on the Henderson Ranch Estates preliminary plat, and approved a related variance that relieves the applicant from dedicating the north-south section-line right of way across portions of the gravel-pit parcel.
The hearing drew several adjacent landowners and extensive public comment. Opponents urged the board to preserve public access routes and to avoid giving up section-line rights that provide future access options and emergency egress routes. John Jordan and others urged the board to retain Hale Place and maintain its potential as a public connector for future circulation and emergency response. Proponent Dean Scott, the surveyor, said the plat could be revised to dedicate the full Hale Place right of way if the land on both sides is under common ownership.
After deliberation, the board moved to deny the variance that would have allowed half-street treatment for Hale Place (which would have required the county to accept only a half dedication), and to require as part of the plat that the owner dedicate the full 66-foot Hale Place based on the center line. Separately, the board approved the variance asking not to dedicate the north-south 33-foot section line between Sections 11 and 12 for this specific plat; staff explained that the federal Forest Service does not recognize a section-line right-of-way on federal land, and the variance would not constitute abandonment of any public right.
Staff clarified that the access easement recorded in neighboring Pennington County will remain available for gravel operations to use as an access route and that the approved variance for the north-south section line applies only to this plat and would not remove the county’s ability to require dedication in other circumstances.
The motions carried on voice vote. The board asked the surveyor to revise the preliminary plat to show the full Hale Place dedication and return with improved drawings for final-plat consideration.
The board’s action reflects a compromise: it preserves Hale Place as a fully dedicated public right of way to protect future access and emergency connectivity while allowing the gravel-pit parcel limited relief from dedicating a north-south section-line right of way in the current platting sequence.
