Residents press commission over water, wildlife and easement concerns at Moonbase Woods hearing

Developers and planning staff asked Anaconda‑Deer Lodge County commissioners to advance a 26‑lot preliminary plat known as Moonbase Woods, while residents urged more independent study and stronger protections for water, wildlife and private easements.

Carl Hamley of the county planning department summarized his packet, citing review criteria in the Montana Code Annotated and local subdivision regulations (Chapter 16) and agency comments from Georgetown Lake Volunteer Fire Department, the U.S. Forest Service, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks and DEQ. Hamley said the planning department believes the application meets the review standards and recommended conditional preliminary plat approval with 16 conditions intended to mitigate impacts.

Joe Booth, a co‑developer, told the commission the team has worked for nearly two years on the project, obtained two permits from the Montana Department of Transportation after a traffic safety review, and plans to redirect site access from Anderson Tract to Harris Lane while preserving existing access rights. He said the subdivision is an entitlement of land, not a homebuilder, and emphasized local contracting and economic benefits.

“People have put conditions forth for us. We’ve considered every single one, and we have addressed every single one that’s been put in front of us by an authority,” Booth said.

The subdivision’s engineer, Sarah Jones, presented the project’s water analysis and described conservative aquifer calculations. She said she limited the aquifer to a 100‑foot radius for modeling, used DEQ transmissivity and hydraulic‑conductivity figures from nearby wells, and estimated a peak potential yield of about 257 gallons per minute and average demand closer to 6 gpm — figures she said provide more than five times the water needed under peak‑demand assumptions. She also noted that the 10 acre‑feet legal exemption equates to the water right that may be applied to the subdivision.

“By my calculations, we have more than five times of the water that it needs,” Jones said, and invited further questions before any final action.

Many residents disputed those conclusions and asked for independent, third‑party analysis. Tom Rue, a project participant, described covenant changes (no short‑term rentals, house‑size limits and lighting controls) and said several agencies had provided sign‑offs. By contrast, other speakers raised specific technical and regulatory concerns: assertions of gravel fills encroaching into wetlands without US Army Corps or DEQ permits, alleged gaps in DEQ/401/404 authorizations, DNR drought findings, potential impacts to shallow domestic wells and wildlife, and a private easement for Anderson Tract that some residents say establishes private road rights and limits county jurisdiction.

“Require credible independent science‑based study of sewage and water,” one resident told commissioners, urging the county to demand outside review rather than rely solely on the developer’s materials.

Speakers also flagged potential public‑safety issues: an exposed KVA power box on a path residents use, heavy equipment operation near private properties, and concern that a homeowners association could generate disputes or enforcement actions affecting long‑standing neighbors.

Commissioners and staff repeatedly noted some reviews occur at the state level; Hamley said DEQ’s water‑permit review can take about 90 days and that local review often proceeds concurrently. Hamley also said the Forest Service holds the access easement but generally does not assume road maintenance; the applicant’s HOA would be expected to maintain private roads if that is the proposed approach.

The public hearing closed after more than an hour of testimony. The planning department’s conditional preliminary‑plat recommendation and the record of public comment will be before the commission for further proceedings; no final approval was recorded in the meeting minutes.

What happens next: the commission still must act on the preliminary plat after considering the planning department recommendation, agency permits and the public record. Several residents asked the commission to require independent hydrology, sewage and wetland permitting documentation before any final decision.