Valley County commissioners approve Riverfork Ranch 30‑lot subdivision after extended public hearing

Valley County commissioners voted to approve Conditional Use Permit CUP 24-02 for the Riverfork Ranch subdivision — a 43.75‑acre proposal for 30 single‑family lots north of Spink Lane near State Highway 55 — during an afternoon session Monday, Dec. 23.

The decision follows a multi‑month process that included Planning & Zoning hearings, motions for reconsideration and supplemental submittals the board requested earlier this fall. The board approved the preliminary plat with conditions and directed that a development agreement be finalized prior to final platting; the transcript records a motion and second and a voice vote to approve the permit, and the record does not include a roll‑call tally of yes/no votes.

The proposal, submitted by Lake Fork Ranch LLC as “Riverfork Ranch,” would place 30 buildable single‑family lots on 43.75 acres. Lot sizes on the preliminary plat range roughly from 1.0 to 1.78 acres (the applicant removed duplex lots after earlier review). The applicant proposes individual septic systems and individual wells for each lot, a 20‑foot landscaping buffer along Spink Lane, private roads and an open common lot (not buildable); one common lot (designated Lot 11 in the preliminary plat) lies partly in a designated floodplain.

Opponents during the public hearing urged denial or additional, binding conditions. Abigail Germaine of the law firm Elam & Burke, representing several nearby property owners, told the commissioners,…