The Bannock County Planning and Development Council approved the concept plan for Meter Ridge Estates, a proposed open-space subdivision that would create 11 lots (10 buildable lots and one open-space lot) served by individual wells and Dundee Drive as a public road.

Council members approved the concept plan by a 2-1 vote after extended discussion about existing easements, irrigation and water-rights questions, nitrate levels and stormwater/flood-elevation requirements. Staff and the applicant agreed that multiple technical conditions must be satisfied at the preliminary-plat stage, including confirmation of irrigation rights, a detailed base flood elevation study, DEQ review of septic/system design, and written comments from the North Bannock Fire District.

Applicant representative Stuart Ward said the proposal would place public utilities in easements adjacent to the road and that existing structures (a house and barn) would remain outside the subdivision. Ward said the developer is working with the Idaho Department of Water Resources (IDWR) on irrigation-rights matters and provided a base flood-elevation study in the packet; staff recommended retaining a condition to require the study to be shown on the preliminary plat.

Staff cautioned the council that a July change in state law on water rights may affect landscaping and irrigation practices for new subdivisions. Staff said IDWR commented that irrigation rights on the site are unresolved and that, depending on IDWR's outcome, there might be restrictions on irrigated landscaping in the development. The council also discussed nitrate concerns in the area and required that the preliminary plat note that the subdivision is in an area of elevated nitrate levels and that DEQ provide written comments resolving acceptable septic or wastewater disposal methods.

The council altered staff-recommended language for one landscaping condition to require a “privacy buffer” rather than a full privacy fence, and it required that an adjacent-property approval letter reference the variance/conditions. The council struck two duplicative staff conditions related to cul-de-sac and easement language but retained a separate requirement that the grama way be 60 feet wide with a 60-foot cul-de-sac radius to county standards.

Conditions attached to approval included: removal or setback compliance for existing structures; submission of construction plans that show removed structures; North Bannock Fire District written comments at preliminary plat; restriction that lots access Dundee Drive (not 2½ Mile Road); a notice on the plat about elevated nitrate levels; proof of notification to vacate easements at preliminary plat (Idaho code 50-1306A); central-mailbox and school locations on subsequent plats; DEQ comments resolving septic method for the development; proof of irrigation rights or documentation if irrigation exists; depiction of the base flood-elevation study on the plat; and a requirement to depict the cul-de-sac and related data on preliminary and final plats.

The motion to approve the concept plan passed by roll call 2–1. Council and staff noted multiple items remain to be addressed at the preliminary and final-plat stages, including IDWR resolution of irrigation rights, DEQ guidance on septic design, recordation or vacation of existing easements, and verification of fire-district needs.