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Planning board grants variance to avoid opposite-side dedication on Alkali Road for Lazy EJ Bar Ranch
Summary
The Meade County Planning Board approved a variance allowing Lazy EJ Bar Ranch subdivision to avoid dedicating the opposite side of Alkali Road and to leave the existing gravel driving surface in place.
The Meade County Planning Board approved a variance Monday allowing Lazy EJ Bar Ranch subdivision to avoid dedicating the opposite side of Alkali Road and to leave the existing gravel driving surface in place.
County staff explained Alkali Road currently has a 22.2-foot gravel driving surface; county ordinance requires 28 feet. The variance request sought relief from the width and from dedicating the opposite right-of-way the developer does not own. The proponent said the 10-acre parcel at issue was being platted so the owner’s daughter and son-in-law could build a home and that the parcel, and the surrounding homesteads, are part of a larger ranch context.
Board members examined whether the property owner held the north-side land and whether utility service (water trench and curb stop) already exists for the proposed building site. Staff confirmed an existing trench and curb stop near the proposed build site and that the plat would dedicate a 20-foot water-line easement for the newly installed main. The applicant said the driveway would be shared with an existing access and that interior lot infrastructure would be provided as part of the development.
After discussion, a motion to approve the variance — relieving the applicant of dedication of the opposite side of Alkali Road and of the road-improvement requirement — passed unanimously. The board noted that Alkali Road is county maintained and that, because much of the surrounding land is part of a larger ranch and the Forest Service does not recognize the section line as a road on federal land, building a full opposite-side public improvement may be impractical.
The board voted only on the variance while the Board of Adjustments; the plat will be considered subsequently under the separate platting process. Staff advised the applicant to be ready to answer final-plat questions about water, access and the shared-driveway arrangement before the final-plat vote.
The decision applies only to this plat and does not remove the county’s authority to require improvements or dedication for other plats or if conditions change.
