Planning commission to be formal land-use authority for small subdivisions; public hearing set for March

The Planning and Land Use Commission of Tadaw Castle Valley moved on Thursday to send proposed edits to Ordinance 85-3 to a public hearing in March to bring the town’s land-use code into compliance with the amended subdivision ordinance 02/2004-3.

The commission agreed that under the proposed changes the Planning and Land Use Commission will serve as the land-use authority for one- and two-family residential subdivisions and that the Town Council will be the appeal authority. Colleen Thompson, the town—s building permit agent, summarized the edits and told commissioners, "the Planning and Land Use Commission shall act as the Land Use Authority to review and act upon applications for 1 to 2 family residential subdivisions, [see] subdivision ordinance 02/2004-3." Thompson said the language will also be updated to reference the subdivision ordinance "as amended."

Why it matters: the edits change which town body makes initial subdivision decisions and which body hears appeals, a procedural change commissioners said is required by state law and by the town—s recent ordinance amendments. Commissioners said the change will require coordinated edits across multiple town ordinances so they do not conflict.

Most important details: commissioners debated several implementation issues before voting. They agreed to update chapter 3 (land use authority) and chapter 7 (appeals) of Ordinance 85-3 and to revise the Land Use Authority table so that subdivision approvals list the Planning and Land Use Commission as the land-use authority and the Town Council as appeal authority. Commissioners and staff discussed adding the words "as amended" after the subdivision ordinance citation to avoid future confusion.

Substantive questions raised: several commissioners and staff warned that the new subdivision rules interact with other town provisions, especially those about lot divisions, lot line adjustments and slope/earth-moving rules. Commissioners asked whether the town—s definitions distinguish between a "lot division" (or lot line adjustment) and a state-defined "subdivision" (creation of a new lot from an existing lot). Commissioner Kimberly (first name only in the record) and others urged adding or harmonizing definitions so property owners understand when the new rules apply.

Geologic hazard and slope issues were a prominent topic. Commissioners noted the town maintains a rockfall/geologic-hazard map and that the subdivision ordinance contains slope and grading provisions that could prevent newly created lots in mapped hazard areas from being buildable even when neighboring, preexisting lots are buildable. Jeff Whitney, participating by Zoom, and other members discussed whether the slope/grading language belongs in the subdivision ordinance or in the town—s land-disturbance/earthmoving ordinance (95-6). Commissioners suggested removing or relocating subdivision-specific slope limits so the rules apply uniformly and to avoid legal exposure.

Next steps and votes: commissioners voted to approve the specific edits to chapter 3 and chapter 7 of Ordinance 85-3 and to send the package to a public hearing in March. Commissioners also agreed to hold a second public hearing later if needed to consider additional edits (for example, consolidated changes to definitions, lot-division language and slope/earthmoving rules). The commission tabled related agenda items about updates to land-use application forms pending further work.

Votes at a glance - Motion to move proposed changes to chapters 3 and 7 of Ordinance 85-3 to a public hearing in March: approved (motion moved and seconded; roll call recorded as passing). Note: the public-hearing date was set for March; the exact day will be posted in the meeting notice. - Motion to untable Ordinance 85-3 for discussion: approved. - Motion to approve the meeting agenda and to approve meeting minutes from Jan. 9, 2025: approved (minutes vote included one abstention by Jeff Whitney). - Motion to table updates to land-use application forms: approved.

What was not decided: commissioners did not adopt final language on slopes, lot-division definitions or where grading rules should live; they directed staff and commissioners to reconvene and supply revised language for future meetings and public hearings.

The commission scheduled the public hearing for the proposed changes in March and asked staff to circulate the final draft and any recommended cross-ordinance edits before the hearing.