Broadwater County planning board asks developer to show well, water features and access details for Logan Minor subdivision

Townsend, Mont. — The Broadwater County Planning Board voted July 15 to request additional information from the developer of the proposed Logan Minor Subdivision, asking that the preliminary plat show the on-site well location, nearby water features (irrigation ditch) and legal/physical access details before the application proceeds to the Broadwater County commissioners.

Nicole Brown, Broadwater County community development director, read the staff report into the record and told the board the application proposes to split a single 11.16-acre parcel into one residential lot. Brown said the application lists an on-site well and an individual on-site wastewater treatment system, access from Confederate Gulch Road and that the parcel is about 14 miles northeast of Townsend. She recommended approval of the preliminary plat subject to a set of conditions, and noted reviews from state agencies would be required for well and wastewater placement.

The planning board’s request for additional information grew from a multi-member review of the submitted preliminary plat and supporting documents. Board member Charles Freshman and others identified several items they said were missing or inconsistent: the exact location of the well on the preliminary plat, a water-carrying irrigation ditch (referred to throughout the record as an irrigation ditch, not a creek) that runs through the parcel, and clarifying how the property is accessed from Confederate Gulch Road and whether a culvert is required at the road approach. Freshman asked the applicant to show the existing Certificate of Survey (COS) reference consistently across documents; the file as submitted used different document references in places.

Developer David Logan, who is the property owner, told the board he had installed the well in 2023 and had placed a 48-inch culvert in the irrigation ditch where needed. ‘‘IItried to make all the right steps here,’’ Logan said, and described the driveway approach and culvert placement. The applicantrepresentative, Christy Heinemann, and surveyor Bernadette were present at the meeting.

County staff and board members discussed which items the planning board can require at the preliminary-plat stage under local regulations. Brown and other staff pointed to Broadwater County subdivision regulations (Supplement 5) that identify what must appear on a preliminary plat; the board cited specific subsections to justify asking that wells and water facilities be shown. Staff also noted that some technical reviews (stormwater plans, DEQ wastewater approval, DNRC review of exempt wells) fall under state agency processes and required permits rather than purely local approvals.

Board members debated two procedural options: recommend approval with conditions that would require the items be shown prior to final plat approval, or ask the developer to submit the additional information now as new material so the planning board can review it before making a recommendation to the commissioners. The board ultimately voted to request that the developer provide revised preliminary-plat materials showing the well location and water features in accordance with Broadwater County subdivision regulation Supplement 5, item 3(a)(u)(2), and access information consistent with Supplement 5, item 3(a)(m). The motion was seconded and carried; the record shows the board asked staff to notify the developer by letter and to schedule a follow-up planning-board review once the materials are submitted.

The staff report reiterates that the Logan Minor Subdivision application will require review and approvals from state agencies for water and wastewater: the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (DNRC) reviews exempt well use and the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) reviews on-site wastewater system siting and stormwater controls. The report also lists recommended county conditions (noxious weed management plan, fire protection plan coordinated with the Broadwater Rural Fire District, demonstration of utility easements, and deed-restrictive covenants related to residential use and radon/seismic construction standards).

Procedural notes from the meeting: the planning board noted the statutory review period for the application runs to Aug. 15, 2025; staff said that submitting new material restarts the county review clock (the 35-working-day review sequence). Board members discussed scheduling a follow-up meeting to review corrected materials; the planning board set a tentative follow-up for the next Tuesday at 2:00 p.m., pending receipt of the revised preliminary plat materials from the developer’s representative.

What remains unsettled: the board asked the developer to supply a revised preliminary plat or accompanying materials that place the well, show the irrigation ditch and show access and approach details in the locations required by Supplement 5; staff will confirm which items must be shown at the preliminary-plat stage and which may instead be enforced as conditions prior to final plat approval. No recommendation to the county commissioners on approval or denial was issued at the July 15 meeting; the board’s action was a formal request for additional information so the planning board can complete its review and make a recommendation.

Quotes in this article are taken from the July 15, 2025 public meeting record of the Broadwater County Planning Board and are attributed to speakers who spoke on the record at that meeting.