The Pennington County Planning Commission on Oct. 27 approved a planned-unit-development (PUD) amendment for JV Gulch LLC at 23774 Highway 385 (PUR94-20), allowing vacation-home rentals, two caretaker residences and new development standards for seasonal recreational units.

Assistant Planning Director Jason Thennison said the property sits on about 153.7 acres and that the current owner cleared dilapidated mobile homes and sought clearer standards for

cabins










(accessory dwelling units) with a 700-square-foot limit and no more than two stories. Staff recommended 18 conditions and proposed removing an old restriction (condition 2) that limited development of a future triangle area unless a detailed plan was presented.

Commission debate focused on whether attached garages should be permitted on cabin units. Planning staff had recommended no attached garages to emphasize seasonal use; the applicant, Isaac Almanza, asked for flexibility. The commission modified the recommendation so accessory structures and garages can be allowed with building permits and removed the historic condition limiting development of a future area. The commission approved the amendment as modified.

Jason Thennison and the applicant said floodplain development would require separate permits for any improvements within the special flood hazard area and that building permits would be used to track the total number of developed recreational sites, which staff capped at 110 for this PUD.