Commission releases $286,350 letter of credit for Wildflower Estates; board votes to avoid business with bank that revoked a prior LOC

County planning staff recommended release of a letter of credit of $286,350 for Wildflower Estates (Spearfish Mountain Ranch as holder) after reviewing as-builts and engineer reports. Staff said required infrastructure items were completed and documentation was on file.

Commission discussion disclosed that a prior bond had been released by the bank without county knowledge; commissioners expressed concern and one commissioner opposed releasing the current bond because of that history. After staff's explanation that the tank (water storage) had documentation and that there were conditions limiting building permits until roads were complete, the board voted to release $286,350. A separate motion passed asking staff to not accept irrevocable letters of credit from the bank that had previously revoked the prior bond, on the basis that a bank that can revoke an irrevocable LOC is not acceptable to the county.

Staff said building permits and platting would proceed only after standard as-built verification and that they would address the earlier bank incident separately.